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WANDERINGS 


SOUTH    AMERICA, 


LONDON : 
R.  CLAY,  1'RINTER.  DEVONSHIRE-STREET,  BISHOPSOATE. 


WANDERINGS 


IN 


SOUTH    AMERICA, 

THE 

NORTH-WEST  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
itnti  t!)f  &ntillf0, 

IN  THE  YEARS  1812,  1816,  1820,  &  1824. 


WITH    ORIGINAL 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  THE  PERFECT  PRESERVATION  OF  BIRDS,  &c. 
FOR  CABINETS  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


BY  CHARLES  WATERTON,  ESQ. 


SECOND  EDITION.    • 

LONDON: 

PRINTED   FOR 

B.  FELLOWES,  (SUCCESSOR  TO  MR.  MAWMAN,) 

LUDGATE    STREET. 

1828. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


I  OFFER  this  book  of  "  Wanderings"  with 
a  hesitating  hand.  It  has  little  merit,  and 
must  make  its  way  through  the  world  as 
well  as  it  can.  It  will  receive  many  a 
jostle  as  it  goes  along,  and  perhaps  is 
destined  to  add  one  more  to  the  number 
of  slain,  in  the  field  of  modern  criticism. 
But  if  it  fall,  it  may  still,  in  death,  be 
useful  to  me  ;  for  should  some  accidental 
rover  take  it  up,  and,  in  turning  over  its 
pages,  imbibe  the  idea  of  going  out  to 
explore  Guiana,  in  order  to  give  the 
world  an  enlarged  description  of  that 
noble  country,  I  shall  say,  "  fortem  ad 
fortia  misi,"  and  demand  the  armour ;  that 
is,  I  shall  lay  claim  to  a  certain  portion 
of  the  honours  he  will  receive,  upon  the 
plea,  that  I  was  the  first  mover  of  his  dis- 
coveries ;  for,  as  Ulysses  sent  Achilles  to 


2063576 


VI  PREFACE. 

Troy,  so  I  sent  him  to  Guiana.  I  intended 
to  have  written  much  more  at  length; 
but  days,  and  months,  and  years  have 
passed  away,  and  nothing  has  been  done. 
Thinking  it  very  probable  that  I  shall 
never  have  patience  enough  to  sit  down 
and  write  a  full  account  of  all  I  saw  and 
examined  in  those  remote  wilds,  I  give 
up  the  intention  of  doing  so,  and  send 
forth  this  account  of  my  "  Wanderings/' 
just  as  it  was  written  at  the  time. 

If  critics  are  displeased  with  it  in  its 
present  form,  I  beg  to  observe,  that  it 
is  not  totally  devoid  of  interest,  and  that  it 
contains  something  useful.  Several  of  the 
unfortunate  gentlemen  who  went  out  to 
explore  the  Congo,  were  thankful  for  the 
instructions  they  found  in  it;  and  Sir 
Joseph  Banks,  on  sending  back  the 
journal,  said  in  his  letter,  "  I  return  your 
journal,  with  abundant  thanks  for  the 
very  instructive  lesson  you  have  favoured 
us  with  this  morning,  which  far  excelled, 
in  real  utility,  every  thing  I  have  hitherto 
seen/'  And  in  another  letter  he  says, 


PREFACE.  Vll 


"  I  hear  with  particular  pleasure  your 
intention  of  resuming  your  interesting 
travels,  to  which  natural  history  has 
already  been  so  much  indebted."  And 
again.  "  I  am  sorry  you  did  not  deposit 
some  part  of  your  last  harvest  of  birds  in 
the  British  Museum,  that  your  name  might 
become  familiar  to  naturalists,  and  your  * 
unrivalled  skill  in  preserving  birds,  be 
made  known  to  the  public.''  And  again, 
"  You  certainly  have  talents  to  set  forth 
a  book,  which  will  improve  and  extend 
materially  the  bounds  of  natural  science." 
Sir  Joseph  never  read  the  third  adven- 
ture. Whilst  I  was  engaged  in  it,  death 
robbed  England  of  one  of  her  most 
valuable  subjects,  and  deprived  the  Royal 
Society  of  its  brightest  ornament. 


ERRATUM. 
P.  163,  line  4  from  the  bottom,  for  quo  te  pedes  read  pedei  quo  te. 


WANDERINGS 


SOUTH     AMERICA 


"  nee  berba,  neclatens  in  aspens 

Radix  fefellit  me  locis." 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


IN  the  month  of  April,  1812,  I  left  the  town 
of  Stabroek,  to  travel  through  the  wilds  of  De- 
merara  and  Essequibo,  a  part  of  ci-devant  Dutch 
Guiana,  in  South  America. 

The   chief  objects  in  view,  were  to  collect  a  its  object, 
quantity  of  the   strongest  Wourali  poison ;    and 
to  reach  the  inland  frontier  fort  of  Portuguese 
Guiana. 

It  would  be  a  tedious  journey  for  him  who 
wishes  to  travel  through  these  wilds,  to  set  out 
from  Stabroek  on  foot.  The  sun  would  exhaust 
him  in  his  attempts  to  wade  through  the  swamps ; 
and  the  mosquitos  at  night  would  deprive  him 
of  every  hour  of  sleep. 


WANDERINGS    IN 

The  roaci  for  horses  runs  parallel  to  the  river, 

. 

but  it  extends  a  very  little  way,  and  even  ends 

before  the  cultivation  of  the  plantations  ceases. 

The  only  mode  then  that  remains,  is  to  proceed 
by  water ;  and  when  you  come  to  the  high  lands, 
you  may  make  your  way  through  the  forest  on 
foot,  or  continue  your  route  on  the  river. 

Face  of  the      After   passing   the   third    island   in   the    river 

country. 

Demerara,  there  are  few  plantations  to  be  seen, 
and  those  not  joining  on  to  one  another,  but 
separated  by  large  tracts  of  wood. 

The  Loo  is  the  last  where  the  sugar-cane  is 
growing.  The  greater  part  of  its  negroes  have 
just  been  ordered  to  another  estate ;  and  ere  a 
few  months  shall  have  elapsed,  all  signs  of  culti- 
vation will  be  lost  in  underwood. 

Higher  up  stand  the  sugar-works  of  Amelia's 
Waard,  solitary  and  abandoned !  and  after  passing 
these  there  is  not  a  ruin  to  inform  the  traveller, 
that  either  coffee  or  sugar  have  ever  been  cul- 
tivated. 

From  Amelia's  Waard,  an  unbroken  range  of 
forest  covers  each  bank  of  the  river,  saving  here 
and  there  where  a  hut  discovers  itself,  inhabited 
by  free  people  of  colour,  with  a  rood  or  two  of 
bared  ground  about  it ;  or  where  the  wood-cutter 
has  erected  himself  a  dwelling,  and  cleared  a  few 
acres  for  pasturage.  Sometimes  you  see  level 
ground  on  each  side  of  you,  for  two  or  three 
hours  at  a  stretch ;  at  other  times,  a  gently  sloping 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  3 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


hill  presents  itself;  and  often,  on  turning  a  point, 
the  eye  is  pleased  with  the  contrast  of  an  almost 
perpendicular  height  jutting  into  the  water.  The 
trees  put  you  in  mind  of  an  eternal  spring,  with 
summer  and  autumn  kindly  blended  into  it. 

Here  you  may  see  a  sloping  extent  of  noble 
trees,  whose  foliage  displays  a  charming  variety 
of  every  shade,  from  the  lightest  to  the  darkest 
green  and  purple.  The  tops  of  some  are  crowned 
with  bloom  of  the  loveliest  hue ;  while  the  boughs 
of  others  bend  with  a  profusion  of  seeds  and 
fruits. 

Those  whose  heads  have  been  bared  by  time,  or 
blasted  by  the  thunder-storm,  strike  the  eye,  as  a 
mournful  sound  does  the  ear  in  music;  and  seem 
to  beckon  to  the  sentimental  traveller  to  stop  a 
moment  or  two,  and  see  that  the  forests  which 
surround  him,  like  men  and  kingdoms,  have  their 
periods  of  misfortune  and  decay. 

The  first  rocks  of  any  considerable  size,  that  are  Rocks- 
observed  on  the  side  of  the  river,  are  at  a  place 
called  Saba,  from  the  Indian  word,  which  means  a 
stone.  They  appear  sloping  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  not  shelvy,  but  smooth,  and  their  exuberances 
rounded  off,  and,  in  some  places,  deeply  furrowed, 
as  though  they  had  been  worn  with  continual 
floods  of  water. 

There  are  patches  of  soil  up  and  down,  and  the 
huge  stones  amongst  them  produce  a  pleasing 
and  novel  effect.  You  see  a  few  coffee-trees  of  a 

B  2 


WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     fine  luxuriant  growth ;  and  nearly  on  the  top  of 

OUKNEY. 

-  Saba,  stands  the  house  of  the  postholder. 


Residence        jje  is  appointed  by  government  to  give  in  his 
holder.       report  to  the  protector  of  the  Indians,  of  what  is 
going  on  amongst  them ;  and  to  prevent  suspicious 
people  from  passing  up  the  river. 

When  the  Indians  assemble  here,  the  stranger 
may  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Aborigines, 
dancing  to  the  sound  of  their  country  music,  and 
painted  in  their  native  style.  They  will  shoot 
their  arrows  for  him  with  an  unerring  aim,  and 
send  the  poisoned  dart,  from  the  blow-pipe,  true 
to  its  destination:  and  here  he  may  often  view  all 
the  different  shades,  from  the  red  savage  to  the 
white  man ;  and  from  the  white  man  to  the 
sootiest  son  of  Africa. 

Beyond  this  post,  there  are  no  more  habitations 
of  white  men,  or  free  people  of  colour. 
Trees.  In  a  country,  so  extensively  covered  with  wood 

as  this  is.  having  every  advantage  that  a  tropical 
sun,  and  the  richest  mould,  in  many  places,  can 
give  to  vegetation,  it  is  natural  to  look  for  trees  of 
very  large  dimensions.  But  it  is  rare  to  meet  with 
them  above  six  yards  in  circumference.  If  larger 
have  ever  existed,  they  have  fallen  a  sacrifice, 
either  to  the  axe  or  to  fire. 

If,  however,  they  disappoint  you  in  size,  they 
make  ample  amends  in  height.  Heedless,  and 
bankrupt,  in  all  curiosity  must  he  be,  who  can 
journey  on  without  stopping  to  take  a  view  of  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  5 

towering  mora.     Its  topmost  branch,  when  naked     FIRST 

JOURNEY. 

with  age,  or  dried  by  accident,  is  the  favourite  - 
resort  of  the  toucan.     Many  a  time  has  this  sin- 
gular bird  felt  the  shot  faintly  strike  him,  from 
the  gun  of  the  fowler  beneath,  and  owed  his  life  to 
the  distance  betwixt  them. 

The  trees  which  form  these  far-extending  wilds, 
are  as  useful  as  they  are  ornamental.  It  would 
take  a  volume  of  itself  to  describe  them. 

The  green-heart,  famous  for  its  hardness  and 
durability ;  the  hackea,  for  its  toughness ;  the 
ducalabali,  surpassing  mahogany;  the  ebony  and 
letter-wood,  vicing  with  the  choicest  woods  of  the 
old  world;  the  locust-tree,  yielding  copal;  and 
the  hayawa  and  olou-trees,  furnishing  a  sweet- 
smelling  resin,  are  all  to  be  met  with  in  the  forest, 
betwixt  the  plantations  and  the  rock  Saba. 

Beyond  this  rock,  the  country  has  been  little 
explored ;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  these,  and 
a  vast  collection  of  other  kinds,  and  possibly  many 
new  species,  are  scattered  up  and  down,  in  all 
directions,  through  fhe  swamps,  and  hills,  and 
savannas  of  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana. 

On  viewing  the  stately  trees  around  him,  the 
naturalist  will  observe  many  of  them  bearing 
leaves,  and  blossoms,  and  fruit,  not  their  own. 

The  wild  fig-tree,  as  large  as  a  common  Eng-  The  wild 

fig-tree. 

lish  apple-tree,  often  rears  itself  from  one  of  the 
thick  branches  at  the  top  of  the  mora ;  and 
when  its  fruit  is  ripe,  to  it  the  birds  resort  for 


6  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     nourishment.     It  was  to  an  undigested  seed,  pass- 

JOURNET. 

-  ing  through  the  body  of  the  bird  which  had 
perched  on  the  mora,  that  the  fig-tree  first  owed 
its  elevated  station  there.  The  sap  of  the  mora 
raised  it  into  full  bearing ;  but  now,  in  its  turn,  it 
is  doomed  to  contribute  a  portion  of  its  own  sap 
and  juices  towards  the  growth  of  different  species 
of  vines,  the  seeds  of  which,  also,  the  birds  de- 
posited on  its  branches.  These  soon  vegetate,  and 
bear  fruit  in  great  quantities ;  so  what  with  their 
usurpation  of  the  resources  of  the  fig-tree,  and 
the  fig-tree  of  the  mora,  the  mora,  unable  to  sup- 
port a  charge  which  nature  never  intended  it 
should,  languishes  and  dies  under  its  burden ;  and 
then  the  fig-tree,  and  its  usurping  progeny  of 
vines,  receiving  no  more  succour  from  their  late 
foster  parent,  droop  and  perish  in  their  turn. 
The  bush-  A  vine  called  the  bush-rope  by  the  wood-cutters, 

rope. 

on  account  of  its  use  in  hauling  out  the  heaviest 
timber,  has  a  singular  appearance  in  the  forests  of 
Demerara.  Sometimes  you  see  it  nearly  as  thick 
as  a  man's  body,  twisted  like  a  corkscrew  round 
the  tallest  trees,  and  rearing  its  head  high  above 
their  tops.  At  other  times,  three  or  four  of  them, 
like  strands  in  a  cable,  join  tree  and  tree,  and 
branch  and  branch  together.  Others,  descending 
from  on  high,  take  root  as  soon  as  their  extremity 
touches  the  ground,  and  appear  like  shrouds  and 
stays  supporting  the  mainmast  of  a  line  of  battle 
ship;  while  others,  sending  out  parallel,  oblique, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  7 

horizontal,  and  perpendicular  shoots  in  all  direc-     FIRST 

JOURNEY. 


tions,  put  you  in  mind  of  what  travellers  call  a 
matted  forest.  Oftentimes  a  tree,  above  a  hun- 
dred feet  high,  uprooted  by  the  whirlwind,  is 
stopped  in  its  fall  by  these  amazing  cables  of 
nature ;  and  hence  it  is  that  you  account  for  the 
phenomenon  of  seeing  trees,  not  only  vegetating, 
but  sending  forth  vigorous  shoots,  though  far  from 
their  perpendicular,  and  their  trunks  inclined  to 
every  degree  from  the  meridian  to  the  horizon. 

Their  heads  remain  firmly  supported  by  the 
bush-rope;  many  of  their  roots  soon  refix  them- 
selves in  the  earth,  and  frequently  a  strong  shoot 
will  sprout  out  perpendicularly  from  near  the  root 
of  the  reclined  trunk,  and  in  time  become  a  fine 
tree.  No  grass  grows  under  the  trees ;  and  few 
weeds,  except  in  the  swamps. 

The  high  grounds  are  pretty  clear  of  under- 
wood, and  with  a  cutlass  to  sever  the  small  bush- 
ropes,  it  is  not  difficult  walking  among  the  trees. 

The  soil,  chiefly  formed  by  the  fallen  leaves  and  soils. 
decayed  trees,  is  very  rich  and  fertile  in  the  vallies. 
On  the  hills,  it  is  little  better  than  sand.  The 
rains  seem  to  have  carried  away,  and  swept  into 
the  vallies,  every  particle  which  nature  intended 
to  have  formed  a  mould. 

Four-footed  animals  are  scarce,  considering  how  Four  footed 
very  thinly  these  forests  are  inhabited  by  men. 

Several  species  of  the  animal,  commonly  called 
tiger,  though  in  reality  it  approaches  nearer  to 


WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     the  leopard,  are  found  here ;   and  two  of  their 

JOURNEY. 

diminutives,  named   tiger  cats.      The  tapir,  the 

lobba,  and  deer,  afford  excellent  food,  and  chiefly 
frequent  the  swamps  and  low  ground,  near  the 
sides  of  the  river  and  creeks. 

In  stating  that  four-footed  animals  are  scarce, 
the  peccari  must  be  excepted.  Three  or  four 
hundred  of  them  herd  together,  and  traverse  the 
wilds  in  all  directions  in  quest  of  roots  and  fallen 
seeds.  The  Indians  mostly  shoot  them  with  poi- 
soned arrows.  When  wounded,  they  run  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  paces  ;  they  then  drop,  and 
make  wholesome  food. 

The  red  monkey,  erroneously  called  the  baboon, 
is  heard  oftener  than  it  is  seen ;  while  the  common 
brown  monkey,  the  bisa,  and  sacawinki,  rove 
from  tree  to  tree,  and  amuse  the  stranger  as  he 
journeys  on. 

A  species  of  the  polecat,  and  another  of  the  fox, 
are  destructive  to  the  Indian's  poultry;  while  the 
opossum,  the  guana,  and  salempenta,  afford  him  a 
delicious  morsel. 

The  small  ant-bear,  and  the  large  one,  remark- 
able for  his  long,  broad,  bushy  tail,  are  sometimes 
seen  on  the  tops  of  the  wood  ants'  nests ;  the 
armadillas  bore  in  the  sand  hills,  like  rabbits  in 
a  warren;  and  the  porcupine  is  now  and  then 
discovered  in  the  trees  over  your  head. 
The  sloth.  This,  too,  is  the  native  country  of  the  sloth. 
His  looks,  his  gestures,  and  his  cries,  all  conspire 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  9 


JOURNEY. 


to  entreat  you  to  take  pity  on  him.     These  are     FIRST 

•  A          •  jniTRNP.l 

the  only  weapons  of  defence  which  nature  hath 
given  him.  While  other  animals  assemble  in 
herds,  or  in  pairs  range  through  these  boundless 
wilds,  the  sloth  is  solitary,  and  almost  stationary ; 
he  cannot  escape  from  you.  It  is  said,  his  piteous 
moans  make  the  tiger  relent,  and  turn  out  of  the 
way.  Do  not  then  level  your  gun  at  him,  or 
pierce  him  with  a  poisoned  arrow ; — he  has  never 
hurt  one  living  creature.  A  few  leaves,  and 
those  of  the  commonest  and  coarsest  kind,  are 
all  he  asks  for  his  support.  On  comparing  him 
with  other  animals,  you  would  say  that  you 
could  perceive  deficiency,  deformity,  and  super- 
abundance in  his  composition.  He  has  no  cutting 
teeth,  and  though  four  stomachs,  he  still  wants 
the  long  intestines  of  ruminating  animals.  He 
has  only  one  inferior  aperture,  as  in  birds.  He 
has  no  soles  to  his  feet,  nor  has  he  the  power 
of  moving  his  toes  separately.  His  hair  is  flat, 
and  puts  you  in  mind  of  grass  withered  by  the 
wintry  blast.  His  legs  are  too  short;  they  ap- 
pear deformed  by  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
joined  to  the  body,  and  when  he  is  on  the  ground, 
they  seem  as  if  only  calculated  to  be  of  use  in 
climbing  trees.  He  has  forty-six  ribs,  while  the 
elephant  has  only  forty;  and  his  claws  are  dis- 
proportionably  long.  Were  you  to  mark  down, 
upon  a  graduated  scale,  the  different  claims  to 
superiority  amongst  the  four-footed  animals,  this 


10  WANDERINGS    IN 

poor  ill-formed  creature's  claim  would  be  the  last 
upon  the  lowest  degree. 

Birds.  Demerara  yields  to  no -country  in  the  world  in 

her  wonderful  and  beautiful  productions  of  the 
feathered  race.  Here  the  finest  precious  stones 
are  far  surpassed  by  the  vivid  tints  which  adorn 
the  birds.  The  naturalist  may  exclaim,  that 
nature  has  not  known  where  to  stop  in  forming 
new  species,  and  painting  her  requisite  shades. 
Almost  every  one  6f  those  singular  and  elegant 
birds  described  by  Buffon  as  belonging  to  Cay- 
enne, are  to  be  met  with  in  Demerara ;  but  it  is 
only  by  an  indefatigable  naturalist  that  they  are 
to  be  found. 

The  scarlet  curlew  breeds  in  innumerable 
quantities  in  the  muddy  islands  on  the  coasts 
of  Pomauron ;  the  egrets  and  crabiers  in  the 
same  place.  They  resort  to  the  mud -flats  at 
ebbing  water,  while  thousands  of  sandpipers  and 
plovers,  with  here  and  there  a  spoonbill  and 
flamingo,  are  seen  amongst  them.  The  pelicans 
go  farther  out  to  sea,  but  return  at  sundown  to 
the  courada-trees.  The  humming-birds  are  chiefly 
to  be  found  near  the  flowers  at  which  each  of  the 
species  of  the  genus  is  wont  to  feed.  The  pie, 
the  gallinaceous,  the  columbine,  and  passerine 
tribes  resort  to  the  fruit-bearing  trees. 

The  You   never   fail   to  see  the  common  vulture 

where  there  is  carrion.     In  passing  up  the  river 
there  was  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  pair  of  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  11 

king  of  the  vultures ;  they  were  sitting  on  the     F1R8T 

'  ^  JOURNEY. 

naked  branch  of  a  tree,  with  about  a  dozen  of- 
the  common  ones  with  them.  A  tiger  had  killed 
a  goat  the  day  before  ;  he  had  been  driven  away 
in  the  act  of  sucking  the  blood,  and  not  finding  it 
safe  or  prudent  to  return,  the  goat  remained  in 
the  same  place  where  he  had  killed  it;  it  had 
begun  to  putrefy,  and  the  vultures  had  arrived 
that  morning  to  claim  the  savoury  morsel. 

At  the  close  of  day,  the  vampires  leave  the  The 
hollow  trees,  whither  they  had  fled  at  the  morn-  Y' 
ing's  dawn,  and  scour  along  the  river's  banks  in 
quest  of  prey.  On  waking  from  sleep,  the  asto- 
nished traveller  finds  his  hammock  all  stained 
with  blood.  It  is  the  vampire  that  hath  sucked 
him.  Not  man  alone,  but  every  unprotected 
animal,  is  exposed  to  his  depredations ;  and  so 
gently  does  this  nocturnal  surgeon  draw  the 
blood,  that  instead  of  being  roused,  the  patient 
is  lulled  into  a  still  profounder  sleep.  There  are 
two  species  of  vampire  in  Demerara,  and  both 
suck  living  animals  ;  one  is  rather  larger  than  the 
common  bat;  the  other  measures  above  two  feet 
from  wing  to  wing  extended. 

Snakes  are  frequently  met  with  in  the  woods  Snakes, 
betwixt  the  sea-coast  and  the  rock  Saba,  chiefly 
near  the  creeks,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 
They  are  large,  beautiful,  and  formidable.  The 
rattlesnake  seems  partial  to  a  tract  of  ground 
known  by  the  name  of  Canal  Number-three ; 


12  WANDERINGS    IN 


there  the  effects  of  his  poison  will  be  long  re- 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 

membered. 


The  Camoudi  snake  has  been  killed  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  long ;  though  not  venomous,  his  size 
renders  him  destructive  to  the  passing  animals. 
The  Spaniards  in  the  Oroonoque  positively  affirm 
that  he  grows  to  the  length  of  seventy  or  eighty 
feet,  and  that  he  will  destroy  the  strongest  and 
largest  bull.  His  name  seems  to  confirm  this  ; 
there  he  is  called  "matatoro,"  which  literally  means 
"  bull-killer."  Thus  he  may  be  ranked  amongst 
the  deadly  snakes ;  for  it  comes  nearly  to  the  same 
thing  in  the  end,  whether  the  victim  dies  by  poison 
from  the  fangs,  which  corrupts  his  blood  and  makes 
it  stink  horribly,  or  whether  his  body  be  crushed 
to  mummy,  and  swallowed  by  this  hideous  beast. 

The  whipsnake  of  a  beautiful  changing  green, 
and  the  coral  with  alternate  broad  traverse  bars 
of  black  and  red,  glide  from  bush  to  bush,  and 
may  be  handled  with  safety  ;  they  are  harmless 
little  creatures. 

The  Labarri  snake  is  speckled,  of  a  dirty  brown 
colour,  and  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  the 
ground  or  stump  on  which  he  is  coiled  up  ;  he 
grows  to  the  length  of  about  eight  feet,  and  his 
bite  often  proves  fatal  in  a  few  minutes. 

Unrivalled  in  his  display  of  every  lovely  colour 
of  the  rainbow,  and  unmatched  in  the  effects  of 
his  deadly  poison,  the  counacouchi  glides  un- 
daunted on,  sole  monarch  of  these  forests ;  he 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  13 

is  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the   bush-     FIRST 

*  J  JOURNEY. 

master.     Both  man  and  beast  fly  before  him,  and  - 
allow  him  to  pursue   an   undisputed  path.     He 
sometimes  grows  to  the  length  of  fourteen  feet. 

A  few  small  caimen,  from  two  to  twelve  feet 
long,  may  be  observed  now  and  then  in  passing 
up  and  down  the  river;  they  just  keep  their  heads 
above  the  water,  and  a  stranger  would  not  know 
them  from  a  rotten  stump. 

Lizards  of  the  finest  green,  brown,  and  copper  Lizards. 
colour,  from  two  inches  to  two  feet  and  a  half 
long,  are  ever  and  anon  rustling  among  the  fallen 
leaves,  and  crossing  the  path  before  you  ;  whilst 
the  chameleon  is  busily  employed  in  chasing  in- 
sects round  the  trunks  of  the  neighbouring  trees. 

The  fish  are  of  many  different  sorts,  and  well-  Fish. 
tasted,  but  not,  generally  speaking,  very  plentiful. 
It  is  probable  that  their  numbers  are  considerably 
thinned  by  the  otters,  which  are  much  larger  than 
those  of  Europe.  In  going  through  the  overflowed 
savannas,  which  have  all  a  communication  with 
the  river,  you  may  often  see  a  dozen  or  two  of 
them  sporting  amongst  the  sedges  before  you. 

This  warm  and  humid  climate  seems  particu-  insects. 
larly  adapted  to  the  producing  of  insects;  it  gives 
birth  to  myriads,  beautiful  past  description  in  their 
variety  of  tints,  astonishing  in  their  form  and  size, 
and  many  of  them  noxious  in  their  qualities. 

He   whose    eye   can    distinguish    the   various 
beauties  of  uncultivated  nature,   and  whose  ear 


JOURNEY. 


14  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST  is  not  shut  to  the  wild  sounds  in  the  woods,  will 
be  delighted  in  passing  up  the  river  Demerara. 
Every  now  and  then,  the  maam  or  tinamou  sends 
forth  one  long  and  plaintive  whistle  from  the 
depth  of  the  forest,  and  then  stops ;  whilst  the 
yelping  of  the  toucan,  and  the  shrill  voice  of  the 
bird  called  pi-pi-yo,  is  heard  during  the  interval. 
The  campanero  never  fails  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  passenger ;  at  a  distance  of  nearly 
three  miles,  you  may  hear  this  snow-white  bird 
tolling  every  four  or  five  minutes,  like  the  distant 
convent  bell.  From  six  to  nine  in  the  morning, 
the  forests  resound  with  the  mingled  cries  and 
strains  of  the  feathered  race ;  after  this,  they 
gradually  die  away.  From  eleven  to  three  all 
nature  is  hushed  as  in  a  midnight  silence,  and 
scarce  a  note  is  heard,  saving  that  of  the  cam- 
panero and  the  pi-pi-yo;  it  is  then  that,  oppressed 
by  the  solar  heat,  the  birds  retire  to  the  thickest 
shade,  and  wait  for  the  refreshing  cool  of  evening. 
At  sundown  the  vampires,  bats,  and  goat- 
suckers dart  from  their  lonely  retreat,  and  skim 
along  the  trees  on  the  river's  bank.  The  diffe- 
rent kinds  of  frogs  almost  stun  the  ear  with  their 
hoarse  and  hollow  sounding  croaking,  while  the 
owls  and  goat-suckers  lament  and  mourn  all  night 
long. 

About  two  hours  before  daybreak,  you  will 
hear  the  red  monkey  moaning  as  though  in  deep 
distress;  the  houtou,  a  solitary  bird,  and  only 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  15 

found  in  the  thickest  recesses  of  the  forest,  dis-     FIR8T 

JOURNEY. 

tinctly  articulates,   "  houtou,   houtou,"  in  a  low 

and  plaintive  tone,  an  hour  before  sunrise ;  the 
maam  whistles  about  the  same  hour ;  the  hanna- 
quoi,  pataca,  and  maroudi  announce  his  near  ap- 
proach to  the  eastern  horizon,  and  the  parrots  and 
paroquets  confirm  his  arrival  there. 

The  crickets  chirp  from  sunset  to  sunrise,  and 
often  during  the  day,  when  the  weather  is  cloudy. 
The  beterouge  is  exceedingly  numerous  in  these 
extensive  wilds,  and  not  only  man,  but  beasts 
and  birds,  are  tormented  by  it.  Mosquitos  are 
very  rare  after  you  pass  the  third  island  in  the 
Demerara,  and  sand-flies  but  seldom  appear. 

Courteous  reader,  here  thou  hast  the  outlines 
of  an  amazing  landscape  given  thee  ;  thou  wilt 
see  that  the  principal  parts  of  it  are  but  faintly 
traced,  some  of  them  scarcely  visible  at  all,  and 
that  the  shades  are  wholly  wanting.  If  thy  soul 
partakes  of  the  ardent  flame  which  the  persevering 
Mungo  Park's  did,  these  outlines  will  be  enough 
for  thee;  they  will  give  thee  some  idea  of  what 
a  noble  country  this  is  ;  and  if  thou  hast  but 
courage  to  set  about  giving  the  world  a 
finished  picture  of  it,  neither  materials  to  work 
on,  nor  colours  to  paint  it  in  its  true  shades,  will 
be  wanting  to  thee.  It  may  appear  a  difficult 
task  at  a  distance  ;  but  look  close  at  it,  and  it  is 
nothing  at  all ;  provided  thou  hast  but  a  quiet 
mind,  little  more  is  necessary,  and  the  genius 


16  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     which  presides  over  these  wilds  will  kindly  help 

JOURNEY.  J 

thee  through  the  rest.     She  will  allow  thee  to 

slay  the  fawn,  and  to  cut  down  the  mountain- 
cabbage  for  thy  support,  and  to  select  from  every 
part  of  her  domain  whatever  may  be  necessary 
for  the  work  thou  art  about ;  but  having  killed 
a  pair  of  doves  in  order  to  enable  thee  to  give 
mankind  a  true  and  proper  description  of  them, 
thou  must  not  destroy  a  third  through  wanton- 
ness, or  to  show  what  a  good  marksman  thou  art; 
that  would  only  blot  the  picture  thou  art  finish- 
ing, not  colour  it. 

Though  retired  from  the  haunts  of  men,  and 
even  without  a  friend  with  thee,  thou  wouldst  not 
find  it  solitary.  The  crowing  of  the  hannaquoi 
will  sound  in  thine  ears  like  the  daybreak  town 
clock;  and  the  wren  and  the  thrush  will  join  with 
thee  in  thy  matin  hymn  to  thy  Creator,  to  thank 
him  for  thy  night's  rest. 

At  noon  the  Genius  will  lead  thee  to  the 
troely,  one  leaf  of  which  will  defend  thee  from 
both  sun  and  rain.  And  if,  in  the  cool  of  the 
evening,  thou  hast  been  tempted  to  stray  too  far 
from  thy  place  of  abode,  and  art  deprived  of  light 
to  write  down  the  information  thou  hast  collected, 

The  fire-  the  fire-fly,  which  thou  wilt  see  in  almost  every 
bush  around  thee,  will  be  thy  candle.  Hold  it 
over  thy  pocket-book,  in  any  position  which  thou 
knowest  will  not  hurt  it,  and  it  will  afford  thee 
ample  light.  And  when  thou  hast  done  with  it, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  17 

put  it  kindly  back  again  on  the  next  branch  to     FIRST 

*  JOURNEY. 

thee.       It    will    want   no   other    reward   for   its  - 
services. 

When  in  thy  hammock,  should  the  thought 
of  thy  little  crosses  and  disappointments,  in  thy 
ups  and  downs  through  life,  break  in  upon  thee, 
and  throw  thee  into  a  pensive  mood,  the  owl  will  The  owl- 
bear  thee  company.  She  will  tell  thee  that  hard 
has  been  her  fate  too ;  and  at  intervals,  "  Whip- 
poor- Will,"  and  "  Willy  come  go,"  will  take  up 
the  tale  of  sorrow.  Ovid  has  told  thee  how  the 
owl  once  boasted  the  human  form,  and  lost  it  for 
a  very  small  offence ;  and  were  the  poet  alive 
now,  he  would  inform  thee,  that  "  Whip-poor- 
Will,"  and  "  Willy  come  go,"  are  the  shades  of 
those  poor  African  and  Indian  slaves,  who  died 
worn  out  and  brokenhearted.  They  wail  and 
cry,  "  Whip-poor-will,"  "  Willy  come  go,"  all 
night  long;  and  often,  when  the  moon  shines, 
you  see  them  sitting  on  the  green  turf,  near  the 
houses  of  those  whose  ancestors  tore  them  from 
the  bosom  of  their  helpless  families,  which  all 
probably  perished  through  grief  and  want,  after 
their  support  was  gone. 

About  an  hour  above  the  rock  of  Saba,  stands  Simon's 
the  habitation  of  an  Indian,  called  Simon,  on  the 
top  of  a  hill.  The  side  next  the  river  is  almost 
perpendicular,  and  you  may  easily  throw  a  stone 
over  to  the  opposite  bank.  Here  there  was  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  man  in  his  rudest  state. 

c 


18  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FIRST     The    Indians    who    frequented    this    habitation, 

l\1  ID  XTT-  V 

though  living  in  the  midst  of  woods,  bore  evident 
marks  of  attention  to  their  persons.  Their  hair 
was  neatly  collected,  and  tied  up  in  a  knot;  their 
bodies  fancifully  painted  red,  and  the  paint  was 
scented  with  hayawa.  This  gave  them  a  gay 
and  animated  appearance.  Some  of  them  had 
on  necklaces,  composed  of  the  teeth  of  wild  boars 
slain  in  the  chase ;  many  wore  rings,  and  others 
had  an  ornament  on  the  left  arm,  midway  betwixt 
the  shoulder  and  the  elbow.  At  the  close  of  day, 
they  regularly  bathed  in  the  river  below;  and 
the  next  morning  seemed  busy  in  renewing  the 
faded  colours  of  their  faces. 

One  day  there  came  into  the  hut  a  form  which 
literally  might  be  called  the  wild  man  of  the 
woods.  On  entering,  he  laid  down  a  ball  of 
wax,  which  he  had  collected  in  the  forest.  His 
hammock  was  all  ragged  and  torn ;  and  his  bow, 
though  of  good  wood,  was  without  any  ornament 
or  polish ;  "  erubuit  domino,  cultior  esse  suo." 
His  face  was  meagre,  his  looks  forbidding,  and 
his  whole  appearance  neglected.  His  long  black 
hair  hung  from  his  head  in  matted  confusion ; 
nor  had  his  body,  to  all  appearance,  ever  been 
painted.  They  gave  him  some  cassava  bread 
and  boiled  fish,  which  he  ate  voraciously,  and  soon 
after  left  the  hut.  As  he  went  out,  you  could 
observe  no  traces  in  his  countenance  or  de- 
meanour, which  indicated  that  he  was  in  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  19 

least  mindful  of  having  been    benefited  by   the     FIRST 

•  JOURNEY. 

society  he  was  just  leaving. 

The  Indians  said  that  he  had  neither  wife,  nor 
child,  nor  friend.  They  had  often  tried  to  per- 
suade him  to  come  and  live  amongst  them;  but 
all  was  of  no  avail.  He  went  roving  on,  plun- 
dering the  wild  bees  of  their  honey,  and  picking 
up  the  fallen  nuts  and  fruits  of  the  forest.  When 
he  fell  in  with  game,  he  procured  fire  from  two 
sticks,  and  cooked  it  on  the  spot.  When  a  hut 
happened  to  be  in  his  way,  he  stepped  in,  and 
asked  for  something  to  eat,  and  then  months 
elapsed  ere  they  saw  him  again.  They  did  not 
know  what  had  caused  him  to  be  thus  unsettled ; 
he  had  been  so  for  years ;  nor  did  they  believe 
that  even  old  age  itself  would  change  the  habits 
of  this  poor,  harmless,  solitary  wanderer. 

From  Simon's,  the  traveller  may  reach  the  large 
fall,  with  ease,  in  four  days. 

The  first  falls  that  he  meets  are  merely  rapids, 
scarce  a  stone  appearing  above  the  water  in  the 
rainy  season ;  and  those  in  the  bed  of  the  river, 
barely  high  enough  to  arrest  the  water's  course, 
and  by  causing  a  bubbling,  show  that  they  are 
there. 

With  this  small  change  of  appearance  in  the 
stream,  the  stranger  observes  nothing  new  till  he 
comes  within  eight  or  ten  miles  of  the  great  fall. 
Each  side  of  the  river  presents  an  uninterrupted 
range  of  wood,  just  as  it  did  below.  All  the 

c  2 


20  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     productions  found  betwixt  the  plantations  and  the 

JOURNEY.     f 

rock  Saba,  are  to  be  met  with  here. 

From  Simon's  to  the  great  fall,  there  are  five 
habitations  of  the  Indians.  Two  of  them  close 
to  the  river's  side ;  the  other  three  a  little  way  in 

Indian  ha-  the  forest.  These  habitations  consist  of  from  four 
to  eight  huts,  situated  on  about  an  acre  of  ground, 
which  they  have  cleared  from  the  surrounding 
woods.  A  few  pappaw,  cotton,  and  mountain 
cabbage-trees,  are  scattered  round  them. 

At  one  of  these  habitations,  a  small  quantity 

Wouraii  of  the  wourali  poison  was  procured.  It  was  in  a 
little  gourd.  The  Indian  who  had  it,  said  that  he 
had  killed  a  number  of  wild  hogs  with  it,  and 
two  tapirs.  Appearances  seemed  to  confirm  what 
he  said ;  for  on  one  side  it  had  been  nearly  taken 
out  to  the  bottom,  at  different  times,  which  pro- 
bably would  not  have  been  the  case  had  the  first 
or  second  trial  failed. 

its  strength  Its  strength  was  proved  on  a  middle-sized  dog. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  no  possibility  of  touching  a  vital  part. 
In  three  or  four  minutes  he  began  to  be  affected, 
smelt  at  every  little  thing  on  the  ground  around 
him,  and  looked  wistfully  at  the  wounded  part. 
Soon  after  this  he  staggered,  laid  himself  down, 
and  never  rose  more.  He  barked  once,  though 
not  as  if  in  pain.  His  voice  was  low  and  weak ; 
and  in  a  second  attempt  it  quite  failed  him.  He 
now  put  his  head  betwixt  his  fore  legs,  and  raising 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  21 

it  slowly  again,  he  fell  over  on  his  side.     His  eye    FIR8T 

•*         °  »          JOURNEY. 

immediately  became  fixed,  and  though  his  extre-  ~ 
mities  every  now  and  then  shot  convulsively,  he 
never  showed  the  least  desire  to  raise  up  his  head. 
His  heart  fluttered  much  from  the  time  he  laid 
down,  and  at  intervals  beat  very  strong ;  then 
stopped  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then  beat  again ; 
and  continued  faintly  beating  several  minutes  after 
every  other  part  of  his  body  seemed  dead. 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  he  had  received 
the  poison  he  was  quite  motionless. 

A  few  miles  before  you  reach  the  great  fall,  and  The  great 

fell 

which,  indeed,  is  the  only  one  which  can  be  called 
a  fall,  large  balls  of  froth  come  floating  past  you. 
The  river  appears  beautifully  marked  with  streaks 
of  foam,  and  on  your  nearer  approach  the  stream 
is  whitened  all  over. 

At  first,  you  behold  the  fall  rushing  down  a 
bed  of  rocks,  with  a  tremendous  noise,  divided 
into  two  foamy  streams,  which,  at  their  junction 
again,  form  a  small  island  covered  with  wood. 
Above  this  island,  for  a  short  space,  there  appears 
but  one  stream,  all  white  with  froth,  and  fretting 
and  boiling  amongst  the  huge  rocks  which  obstruct 
its  course. 

Higher  up  it  is  seen  dividing  itself  into  a  short 
channel  or  two,  and  trees  grow  on  the  rocks  which 
caused  its  separation.  The  torrent,  in  many  places, 
has  eaten  deep  into  the  rocks,  and  split  them  into 
large  fragments,  by  driving  others  against  them. 


22  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     The  trees  on  the  rocks  are  in  bloom  and  vigour, 

JOURNEY. 

though  their  roots  are  half  bared,  and  many  of 

them  bruised  and  broken  by  the  rushing  waters. 

This  is  the  general  appearance  of  the  fall  from 
the  level  of  the  water  below,  to  where  the  river 
is  smooth  and  quiet  above.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, that  this  is  during  the  periodical  rains. 
Probably,  in  the  dry  season,  it  puts  on  a  very  dif- 
ferent appearance.  There  is  no  perpendicular 
fall  of  water  of  any  consequence  throughout  it, 
but  the  dreadful  roaring  and  rushing  of  the  tor- 
rent, down  a  long,  rocky,  and  moderately  sloping 
channel,  has  a  fine  effect ;  and  the  stranger  returns 
well  pleased  with  what  he  has  seen.  No  animal, 
nor  craft  of  any  kind,  could  stem  this  downward 
flood.  In  a  few  moments  the  first  would  be 
killed,  the  second  dashed  in  pieces. 

The  Indians  have  a  path  along-side  of  it,  through 
the  forest,  where  prodigious  crabwood  trees  grow. 
Up  this  path  they  drag  their  canoes,  and  launch 
them  into  the  river  above ;  and  on  their  return, 
bring  them  down  the  same  way. 

Habitation  About  two  hours  below  this  fall,  is  the  habita- 
Acoway  tion  of  an  Acoway  chief  called  Sinkerman.  At 
night  you  hear  the  roaring  of  the  fall  from  it. 
It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  top  of  a  sand-hill. 
At  this  place  you  have  the  finest  view  the  river 
Demerara  affords :  three  tiers  of  hills  rise  in  slow 
gradation,  one  above  the  other,  before  you,  and 
present  a  grand  and  magnificent  scene,  especially 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  23 

to   him   who   has   been   accustomed    to   a    level    riRST 

JOURNEY. 

country. 

Here,  a  little  after  midnight,  on  the  first  of 
May,  was  heard  a  most  strange  and  unaccountable 
noise  ;  it  seemed  as  though  several  regiments  were 
engaged,  and  musketry  firing  with  great  rapidity. 
The  Indians,  terrified  beyond  description,  left  their 
hammocks,  and  crowded  all  together,  like  sheep 
at  the  approach  of  the  wolf.  There  were  no 
soldiers  within  three  or  four  hundred  miles. 
Conjecture  was  of  no  avail,  and  all  conversation 
next  morning  on  the  subject  was  as  useless  and 
unsatisfactory  as  the  dead  silence  which  succeeded 
to  the  noise. 

He  who  wishes  to  reach  the  Macoushi  country, 
had  better  send  his  canoe  over  land  from  Sinker- 
man's  to  the  Essequibo. 

There  is  a  pretty  good  path,  and  meeting  a 
creek  about  three  quarters  of  the  way,  it  eases 
the  labour,  and  twelve  Indians  will  arrive  with  it 
in  the  Essequibo  in  four  days. 

The  traveller  need  not  attend  his  canoe ;  there 
is  a  shorter  and  a  better  way.  Half  an  hour  below 
Sinkerman's  he  finds  a  little  creek  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Demerara.  After  proceeding  about 
a  couple  of  hundred  yards  up  it,  he  leaves  it, 
and  pursues  a  west-north-west  direction  by  land 
for  the  Essequibo.  The  path  is  good,  though 
somewhat  rugged  with  the  roots  of  trees,  and 
here  and  there  obstructed  by  fallen  ones ;  it 


24  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     extends  more  over  level  ground  than  otherwise. 

JOURNEY. 

-  There  are  a  few  steep  ascents  and  descents  in  it, 
with  a  little  brook  running  at  the  bottom  of  them ; 
but  they  are  easily  passed  over,  and  the  fallen 
trees  serve  for  a  bridge. 

You  may  reach  the  Essequibo  with  ease  in  a 
day  and  a  half;  and  so  matted  and  interwoven 
are  the  tops  of  the  trees  above  you,  that  the  sun 
is  not  felt  once  all  the  way,  saving  where  the 
space  which  a  newly  fallen  tree  occupied  lets  in 
his  rays  upon  you.  The  forest  contains  an 
abundance  of  wild  hogs,  lobbas,  acouries,  powisses, 
maams,  maroudis,  and  waracabas,  for  your  nou- 
rishment, and  there  are  plenty  of  leaves  to  cover 
a  shed,  whenever  you  are  inclined  to  sleep. 
The  The  soil  has  three-fourths  of  sand  in  it,  till  you 

Essequibo. 

come  within  half  an  hour's  walk  of  the  Essequibo, 
where  you  find  a  red  gravel  and  rocks.  In  this 
retired  and  solitary  tract,  nature's  garb,  to  all 
appearance,  has  not  been  injured  by  fire,  nor  her 
productions  broken  in  upon  by  the  exterminating 
hand  of  man. 

Here  the  finest  green-heart  grows,  and  wallaba, 
purple-heart,  siloabali,  sawari,  buletre,  tauronira, 
and  mora,  are  met  with  in  vast  abundance,  far 
and  near,  towering  up  in  majestic  grandeur, 
straight  as  pillars,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high, 
without  a  knot  or  branch. 

Traveller,  forget  for  a  little  while  the  idea  thou 
hast  of  wandering  farther  on,  and  stop  and  look 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  25 

at  this  grand  picture  of  vegetable  nature ;  it  is  a    FIRST 

JOURNEY. 

reflection  of  the  crowd  thou  hast  lately  been  in,  - 
and  though  a  silent  monitor,  it  is  not  a  less 
eloquent  one  on  that  account. — See  that  noble 
purple-heart  before  thee !  Nature  has  been  kind 
to  it.  Not  a  hole,  not  the  least  oozing  from  its 
trunk,  to  show  that  its  best  days  are  past.  Vigo- 
rous in  youthful  blooming  beauty,  it  stands  the 
ornament  of  these  sequestered  wilds,  and  tacitly 
rebukes  those  base  ones  of  thine  own  species,  who 
have  been  hardy  enough  to  deny  the  existence  of 
Him  who  ordered  it  to  flourish  here. 

Behold  that  one  next  to  it ! — Hark !  how  the 
hammerings  of  the  red-headed  woodpecker  re- 
sound through  its  distempered  boughs  !  See  what 
a  quantity  of  holes  he  has  made  in  it,  and  how  its 
bark  is  stained  with  the  drops  which  trickle  down 
from  them.  The  lightning,  too,  has  blasted  one 
side  of  it.  Nature  looks  pale  and  wan  in  its 
leaves,  and  her  resources  are  nearly  dried  up  in 
its  extremities ;  its  sap  is  tainted ;  a  mortal  sick- 
ness, slow  as  a  consumption,  and  as  sure  in  its 
consequences,  has  long  since  entered  its  frame, 
vitiating  and  destroying  the  wholesome  juices 
there. 

Step  a  few  paces  aside,'  and  cast  thine  eye  on 
that  remnant  of  a  mora  behind  it.  Best  part  of 
its  branches,  once  so  high  and  ornamental,  now 
lie  on  the  ground  in  sad  confusion,  one  upon  the 
other,  all  shattered  and  fungus-grown,  and  a  prey 


26  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FIRST     to  millions  of  insects,  which  are  busily  employed 

rfcT7¥>WT?V  *  , 

in  destroying  them.  One  branch  of  it  still  looks 
healthy !  Will  it  recover  1  No,  it  cannot ;  nature 
has  already  run  her  course,  and  that  healthy-look- 
ing branch  is  only  as  a  fallacious  good  symptom 
in  him  who  is  just  about  to  die  of  a  mortification 
when  he  feels  no  more  pain,  and  fancies  his  dis- 
temper has  left  him ;  it  is  as  the  momentary 
gleam  of  a  wintry  sun's  ray  close  to  the  western 
horizon. — See!  while  we  are  speaking  a  gust  of 
wind  has  brought  the  tree  to  the  ground,  and 
made  room  for  its  successor. 

Come  further  on,  and  examine  that  apparently 
luxuriant  tauronira  on  thy  right  hand.  It  boasts 
a  verdure  not  its  own ;  they  are  false  ornaments 
it  wears  ;  the  bush-rope  and  bird-vines  have  clothed 
it  from  the  root  to  its  topmost  branch.  The 
succession  of  fruit  which  it  hath  borne,  like  good 
cheer  in  the  houses  of  the  great,  has  invited  the 
birds  to  resort  to  it,  and  they  have  dissemi- 
nated beautiful,  though  destructive,  plants  on  its 
branches,  which,  like  the  distempers  vice  brings 
into  the  human  frame,  rob  it  of  all  its  health  and 
vigour ;  they  have  shortened  its  days,  and  proba- 
bly in  another  year  they  will  finally  kill  it,  long 
before  nature  intended  that  it  should  die. 

Ere  thou  leavest  this  interesting  scene,  look  on 
the  ground  around  thee,  and  see  what  every  thing 
here  below  must  come  to. 

Behold  that  newly  fallen  wallaba !     The  whirl- 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  27 


wind  has  uprooted  it  in  its  prime,  and  it  has 
brought  down  to  the  ground  a  dozen  small  ones 
in  its  fall.  Its  bark  has  already  begun  to  drop 
off!  And  that  heart  of  mora  close  by  it  is  fast 
yielding,  in  spite  of  its  firm,  tough  texture. 

The  tree  which  thou  passedst  but  a  little  ago, 
and  which  perhaps  has  laid  over  yonder  brook 
for  years,  can  now  hardly  support  itself,  and  in 
a  few  months  more  it  will  have  fallen  into  the 
water. 

Put  thy  foot  on  that  large  trunk  thou  seest  to 
the  left.  It  seems  entire  amid  the  surrounding 
fragments.  Mere  outward  appearance,  delusive 
phantom  of  what  it  once  was !  Tread  on  it, 
and  like  the  fuss-ball,  it  will  break  into  dust. 

Sad  and  silent  mementos  to  the  giddy  traveller 
as  he  wanders  on !  Prostrate  remnants  of  vege- 
table nature,  how  incontestably  ye  prove  what 
we  must  all  at  last  come  to,  and  how  plain  your 
mouldering  ruins  show  that  the  firmest  texture 
avails  us  naught  when  Heaven  wills  that  we  should 
cease  to  be ! — 

"  The  cloud-capt  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces, 
The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  which  it  inhabit,  shall  dissolve, 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision, 
Leave  not  a  wreck  behind." 

Cast  thine  eye  around  thee,  and  see  the  thou- 
sands of  nature's  productions.  Take  a  view  of 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


28  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FIRST     them   from    the    opening    seed   on   the    surface, 

niTRNPV.  A 

sending  a  downward  shoot,  to  the  loftiest  and 
the  largest  trees,  rising  up  and  blooming  in  wild 
luxuriance ;  some  side  by  side,  others  separate ; 
some  curved  and  knotty,  others  straight  as  lances ; 
all,  in  beautiful  gradation,  fulfilling  the  mandates 
they  had  received  from  heaven,  and  though  con- 
demned to  die,  still  never  failing  to  keep  up  their 
species  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Reader,  canst  thou  not  be  induced  to  dedicate 
a  few  months  to  the  good  of  the  public,  and 
examine  with  thy  scientific  eye  the  productions 
which  the  vast  and  well-stored  colony  of  Deme- 
rara  presents  to  thee  ? 

What  an  immense  range  of  forest  is  there  from 
the  rock  Saba  to  the  great  fall !  and  what  an  un- 
interrupted extent  before  thee  from  it  to  the  banks 
of  the  Essequibo  !  No  doubt,  there  is  many  a 
balsam  and  many  a  medicinal  root  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered, and  many  a  resin,  gum,  and  oil  yet  un- 
noticed. Thy  work  would  be  a  pleasing  one,  and 
thou  mightest  make  several  useful  observations 
in  it. 

Would  it  be  thought  impertinent  in  thee  to 
hazard  a  conjecture,  that  with  the  resources  the 
government  of  Demerara  has,  stones  might  be 
conveyed  from  the  rock  Saba  to  Stabroek,  to  stem 
the  equinoctial  tides,  which  are  for  ever  sweeping 
away  the  expensive  wooden  piles  round  the  mounds 
of  the  fort?  Or  would  the  timber  -  merchant 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  29 

point  at  thee  in  passing  by,  and  call  thee  a 
descendant  of  La  Mancha's  knight,  because  thou 
maintainest  that  the  stones  which  form  the  rapids 
might  be  removed  with  little  expense,  and  thus 
open  the  navigation  to  the  wood -cutter  from 
Stabroek  to  the  great  fall  ?  Or  wouldst  thou  be 
deemed  enthusiastic  or  biassed,  because  thou 
gives  t  it  as  thy  opinion  that  the  climate  in  these 
high  lands  is  exceedingly  wholesome,  and  the  lands 
themselves  capable  of  nourishing  and  maintaining 
any  number  of  settlers  ?  In  thy  dissertation  on 
the  Indians,  thou  mightest  hint,  that  possibly 
they  could  be  induced  to  help  the  new  settlers  a 
little  ;  and  that  finding  their  labours  well  requited, 
it  would  be  the  means  of  their  keeping  up  a  con- 
stant communication  with  us,  which  probably 
might  be  the  means  of  laying  the  first  stone 
towards  their  Christianity.  They  are  a  poor, 
harmless,  inoffensive  set  of  people,  and  their  wan- 
dering and  ill-provided  way  of  living  seems  more 
to  ask  for  pity  from  us,  than  to  fill  our  heads  with 
thoughts  that  they  would  be  hostile  to  us. 

What  a  noble  field,  kind  reader,  for  thy  ex- 
perimental philosophy  and  speculations,  for  thy 
learning,  for  thy  perseverance,  for  thy  kind- 
heartedness,  for  every  thing  that  is  great  and 
good  within  thee ! 

The  accidental  traveller  who  has  journeyed  on 
from  Stabroek  to  the  rock  Saba,  and  from  thence 
to  the  banks  of  the  Essequibo,  in  pursuit  of  other 


30  WANDERINGS  IN 

FIRST    things,  as  he  told  thee  at  the  beginning,  with  but 

JOURNEY. 

an  indifferent  interpreter  to  talk  to,  no  friend  to 

converse  with,  and  totally  unfit  for  that  which  he 
wishes  thee  to  do,  can  merely  mark  the  outlines 
of  the  path  he  has  trodden,  or  tell  thee  the  sounds 
he  has  heard,  or  faintly  describe  what  he  has  seen 
in  the  environs  of  his  resting-places ;  but  if  this  be 
enough  to  induce  thee -to  undertake  the  journey, 
and  give  the  world  a  description  of  it,  he  will  be 
amply  satisfied. 

It  will  be  two  days  and  a  half  from  the  time  of 
entering  the  path  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Demerara  till  all  be  ready,  and  the  canoe  fairly 
afloat  on  the  Essequibo.  The  new  rigging  it,  and 
putting  every  little  thing  to  rights  and  in  its  proper 
place,  cannot  well  be  done  in  less  than  a  day. 

After  being  night  and  day  in  the  forest  imper- 
vious to  the  sun  and  moon's  rays,  the  sudden 
transition  to  light  has  a  fine  heart-cheering  effect. 
Welcome  as  a  lost  friend,  the  solar  beam  makes 
the  frame  rejoice,  and  with  it  a  thousand  enliven- 
ing thoughts  rush  at  once  on  the  soul,  and  dis- 
perse, as  a  vapour,  every  sad  and  sorrowful  idea, 
which  the  deep  gloom  had  helped  to  collect  there. 
In  coming  out  of  the  woods,  you  see  the  western 
bank  of  the  Essequibo  before  you,  low  and  flat. 
Here  the  river  is  two-thirds  as  broad  as  the  Deme- 
rara at  Stabroek. 
Face  of  the  To  the  northward  there  is  a  hill  higher  than 

country. 

any  in  the  Demerara ;  and  in  the  south-south-west 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  31 

quarter  a  mountain.     It  is  far  away,  and  appears  JO"J**Y 
like  a  bluish  cloud  in  the  horizon.     There  is  not  ~ 
the  least  opening  on  either  side.     Hills,  vallies, 
and  lowlands,  are  all  linked  together  by  a  chain 
of  forest.     Ascend  the  highest  mountain,  climb 
the  loftiest  tree,  as   far  as  the  eye  can  extend, 
whichever    way  it    directs  itself,  all  is  luxuriant 
and  unbroken  forest. 

In  about  nine  or  ten  hours  from  this,  you  get 
to  an  Indian  habitation  of  three  huts,  on  the  point 
of  an  island.  It  is  said  that  a  Dutch  post  once 
stood  here.  But  there  is  not  the  smallest  vestige 
of  it  remaining,  and,  except  that  the  trees  appear 
younger  than  those  on  the  other  islands,  which 
shows  that  the  place  has  been  cleared  some  time 
or  other,  there  is  no  mark  left  by  which  you  can 
conjecture  that  ever  this  was  a  post. 

The   many  islands   which   you  meet  with  in  islands, 
the  way,  enliven  and  change  the  scene,  by  the 
avenues  which   they  make,  which  look  like  the 
mouths    of   other    rivers,    and    break    that   long- 
extended  sameness,  which  is  seen  in  the  Demerara. 

Proceeding  onwards,  you  get  to  the  falls  and  Fails  and 
rapids.     In  the  rainy  season  they  are  very  tedious  rapl  ' 
to  pass,  and  often  stop  your  course.     In  the  dry 
season,  by  stepping  from  rock  to  rock,  the  Indians 
soon  manage  to  get  a  canoe  over  them.    But  when 
the  river  is  swollen,  as  it  was  in  May,  1812,  it  is 
then  a  difficult  task,  and  often  a  dangerous  one 
too.     At  that  time  many  of  the  islands  were  over- 


32  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     flowed,  the  rocks  covered,  and  the  lower  branches 

JOURNEY. 

— of  the  trees  in  the  water.     Sometimes  the  Indians 

were  obliged  to  take  every  thing  out  of  the  canoe, 
cut  a  passage  through  the  branches,  which  hung 
over  into  the  river,  and  then  drag  up  the  canoe  by 
main  force. 

At  one  place,  the  falls  form  an  oblique  line 
quite  across  the  river,  impassable  to  the  ascend- 
ing canoe,  and  you  are  forced  to  have  it  dragged 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  by  land. 

It  will  take  you  five  days,  from  the  Indian 
habitation,  on  the  point  of  the  island,  to  where 
these  falls  and  rapids  terminate. 

There  are  no  huts  in  the  way.  You  must 
bring  your  own  cassava  bread  along  with  you, 
hunt  in  the  forest  for  your  meat,  and  make  the 
night's  shelter  for  yourself. 

Hiiis.  Here  is  a   noble    range   of  hills,  all  covered 

with  the  finest  trees,  rising  majestically  one  above 
the  other,  on  the  western  bank,  and  presenting 
as  rich  a  scene  as  ever  the  eye  would  wish  to 
look  on.  Nothing  in  vegetable  nature  can  be 
conceived  more  charming,  grand,  and  luxuriant. 

How  the  heart  rejoices  in  viewing  this  beauti- 
ful landscape !  when  the  sky  is  serene,  the  air 
cool,  and  the  sun  just  sunk  behind  the  moun- 
tain's top. 

The  hayawa  tree  perfumes  the  woods  around : 
pairs  of  scarlet  aras  are  continually  crossing  the 
river.  The  maam  sends  forth  its  plaintive  note, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  33 

the  wren  chants  its  evening  song.      The  capri-     FIRST 

JOURNEY. 

mulgus  wheels  in  busy  flight  around  the  canoe, 

while  "  Whip-poor-Will"  sits  on  the  broken, 
stump  near  the  water's  edge,  complaining  as  the 
shades  of  night  set  in. 

A  little  before  you  pass  the  last  of  these  rapids,  Rocks, 
two  immense  rocks  appear,  nearly  on  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  many  hills    which   form  this  far- 
extending  range,  where  it  begins  to  fall  off  gra- 
dually to  the  south. 

They  look  like  two  ancient  stately  towers  of 
some  Gothic  potentate,  rearing  their  heads  above 
the  surrounding  trees.  What  with  their  situation, 
and  their  shape  together,  they  strike  the  beholder 
with  an  idea  of  antiquated  grandeur,  which  he 
will  never  forget.  He  may  travel  far  and  near 
and  see  nothing  like  them.  On  looking  at  them 
through  a  glass,  the  summit  of  the  southern  one 
appeared  crowned  with  bushes.  The  one  to  the 
north  was  quite  bare.  The  Indians  have  it  from 
their  ancestors,  that  they  are  the  abode  of  an 
evil  genius,  and  they  pass  in  the  river  below, 
with  a  reverential  awe. 

In  about  seven  hours  from  these  stupendous  River 
sons  of  the  hill,  you  leave  the  Essequibo,  and 
enter  the  river  Apoura-poura,  which  falls  into  it 
from  the  south.  The  Apoura-poura  is  nearly 
one-third  the  size  of  the  Demerara  at  Sta- 
broek.  For  two  days  you  see  nothing  but  level 
ground,  richly  clothed  in  timber.  You  leave  the 

D 


WANDERINGS    IN 

Siparouni  to  the  right  hand,  and  on  the  third  day 
come  to  a  little  hill.  The  Indians  have  cleared 
about  an  acre  of  ground  on  it,  and  erected  a 
temporary  shed.  If  it  be  not  intended  for  pro- 
vision ground  alone,  perhaps  the  next  white  man 
who  travels  through  these  remote  wilds  will  find 
an  Indian  settlement  here. 

Two  days  after  leaving  this,  you  get  to  a  rising 
ground  on  the  western  bank,  where  stands  a 
single  hut ;  and  about  half  a  mile  in  the  forest 
there  are  a  few  more ;  some  of  them  square,  and 
some  round,  with  spiral  roots. 

Here  the  fish  called  Pacou  is  very  plentiful :  it 
is  perhaps  the  fattest  and  most  delicious  fish  in 
Guiana.  It  does  not  take  the  hook,  but  the 
Indians  decoy  it  to  the  surface  of  the  water  by 
means  of  the  seeds  of  the  crabwood  tree,  and 
then  shoot  it  with  an  arrow. 

Macoushi  You  are  now  within  the  borders  of  Macoushia, 
inhabited  by  a  different  tribe  of  people,  called 
Macoushi  Indians ;  uncommonly  dexterous  in  the 
use  of  the  blow-pipe,  and  famous  for  their  skill 
in  preparing  the  deadly  vegetable  poison,  com- 
monly called  Wourali. 

It  is  from  this  country  that  those  beautiful 
paroquets,  named  Kessi-kessi,  are  procured.  Here 
the  crystal  mountains  are  found ;  and  here  the 
three  different  species  of  the  ara  are  seen  in 
great  abundance.  Here,  too,  grows  the  tree  from 
which  the  gum-elastic  is  got:  it  is  large,  and 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  35 

as  tall  as  any  in  the  forest.     The  wood  has  much     F1RST 

*  JOURNEY. 

the  appearance  of  sycamore.  The  gum  is  con-  - 
tained  in  the  bark  :  when  that  is  cut  through,  it 
oozes  out  very  freely :  it  is  quite  white,  and  looks 
as  rich  as  cream :  it  hardens  almost  immediately 
as  it  issues  from  the  tree ;  so  that  it  is  very  easy 
to  collect  a  ball,  by  forming  the  juice  into  a  glo- 
bular shape  as  fast  as  it  comes  out:  it  becomes 
nearly  black  by  being  exposed  to  the  air,  and  is 
real  Indian  rubber  without  undergoing  any  other 
process. 

The  elegant  crested  bird  called  Cock  of  the 
rock,  admirably  described  by  Buffon,  is  a  native 
of  the  woody  mountains  of  Macoushia.  In  the 
daytime,  it  retires  amongst  the  darkest  rocks, 
and  only  comes  out  to  feed  a  little  before  sun- 
rise, and  at  sunset :  he  is  of  a  gloomy  disposition, 
and,  like  the  houtou,  never  associates  with  the 
other  birds  of  the  forest. 

The  Indians,  in  the  just  mentioned  settlement, 
seemed  to  depend  more  on  the  wourali  poison 
for  killing  their  game,  than  upon  any  thing  else. 
They  had  only  one  gun,  and  it  appeared  rusty 
and  neglected  ;  but  their  poisoned  weapons  were 
in  fine  order.  Their  blow-pipes  hung  from  the  Indian 

blow-pipc» 

roof  of  the  hut,  carefully  suspended  by  a  silk 
grass  cord  ;  and  on  taking  a  nearer  view  of  them, 
no  dust  seemed  to  have  collected  there,  nor  had 
the  spider  spun  the  smallest  web  on  them ;  which 
shewed  that  they  were  in  constant  use.  The 

D  2 


30  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     quivers   were  close  by  them,  with  the  iaw-bone 

JOURNEY.  t         J 

of  the  fish  Pirai  tied  by  a  string  to  their  brim, 

and  a  small  wicker-basket  of  wild  cotton,  which 
hung  down  to  the  centre ;  they  were  nearly  full 
of  poisoned  arrows.  It  was  with  difficulty  these 
Indians  could  be  persuaded  to  part  with  any  of 
the  wourali  poison,  though  a  good  price  was 
offered  for  it:  they  gave  to  understand  that  it 
was  powder  and  shot  to  them,  and  very  difficult 
to  be  procured. 

On  the  second  day  after  leaving,  this  settle- 
ment, in  passing  along,  the  Indians  shew  you  a 
place  where  once  a  white  man  lived.  His  retiring 
so  far  from  those  of  his  own  colour  and  acquaint- 
ance seemed  to  carry  something  extraordinary 
along  with  it,  and  raised  a  desire  to  know  what 
could  have  induced  him  to  do  so.  It  seems  he 
had  been  unsuccessful,  and  that  his  creditors  had 
treated  him  with  as  little  mercy  as  the  strong 
generally  show  to  the  weak.  Seeing  his  endea- 
vours daily  frustrated,  and  his  best  intentions  of 
»  no  avail,  and  fearing  that  when  they  had  taken 
all  he  had,  they  would  probably  take  his  liberty 
too,  he  thought  the  world  would  not  be  hard- 
hearted enough  to  condemn  him  for  retiring  from 
the  evils  which  pressed  so  heavily  on  him,  and 
which  he  had  done  all  that  an  honest  man  could 
do,  to  ward  off.  He  left  his  creditors  to  talk  of 
him  as  they  thought  fit,  and,  bidding  adieu  for 
ever  to  the  place  in  which  he  had  once  seen  better 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  37 

times,  he  penetrated  thus  far  into  these  remote     FIR8T 

JOURNEY. 

and  gloomy  wilds,  and  ended  his  days  here. 


According  to  the  new  map  of  South  America,  Lake 
Lake   Parima,   or    the   White  Sea,  ought  to  be 
within  three  or  four  days'  walk  from  this  place. 
On  asking  the  Indians  whether  there  was  such  a 
place  or  not,  and  describing  that  the  water  was 
fresh   and   good   to    drink,   an  old   Indian,   who 
appeared  to  be  about  sixty,  said  that  there  was 
such  a  place,  and  that  he  had  been  there.     This 
information  would  have  been  satisfactory  in  some 
degree,  had  not  the  Indians  carried  the  point  a 
little   too   far.      It    is    very  large,    said   another 
Indian,  and  ships  come  to  it.     Now,  these  unfor- 
tunate ships  were  the  very  things  which  were  not 
wanted:  had  he  kept  them  out,  it  might  have 
done,  but  his  introducing  them  was  sadly  against 
the   lake.     Thus  you  must  either   suppose  that 
the  old  savage  and  his  companion  had  a  confused 
idea  of  the  thing,  and  that  probably  the  Lake 
Parima  they  talked  of  was  the  Amazons,  not  far 
from  the  city  of  Para,  or  that  it  was  their  inten- 
tion to  deceive  you.     You  ought  to  be  cautious 
in  giving  credit  to  their  stories,  otherwise  you 
will  be  apt  to  be  led  astray. 

Many  a  ridiculous  thing  concerning  the  in- 
terior of  Guiana  has  been  propagated  and  re- 
ceived as  true,  merely  because  six  or  seven 
Indians,  questioned  separately,  have  agreed  in 
their  narrative. 


38  \VANDliRINGS    IN 


FIRST         Ask  those  who  live  high  up  in  the  Demerara, 

JOURNEY. 

and  they  will,  every  one  of  them,  tell  you  that 

there  is  a  nation  of  Indians  with  long  tails ;  that 
they  are  very  malicious,  cruel,  and  ill-natured ; 
and  that  the  Portuguese  have  been  obliged  to 
stop  them  off  in  a  certain  river,  to  prevent  their 
depredations.  They  have  also  dreadful  stories 
concerning  a  horrible  beast,  called  the  Water- 
mamma,  which,  when  it  happens  to  take  a  spite 
against  a  canoe,  rises  out  of  the  river,  and  in  the 
most  unrelenting  manner  possible  carries  both 
canoe  and  Indians  down  to  the  bottom  with  it, 
and  there  destroys  them.  Ludicrous  extrava- 
gances !  pleasing  to  those  fond  of  the  marvellous, 
and  excellent  matter  for  a  distempered  brain. 
Anecdote.  1'hg  misinformed  and  timid  court  of  policy  in 
Demerara,  was  made  the  dupe  of  a  savage,  who 
came  down  the  Essequibo,  and  gave  himself  out 
as  king  of  a  mighty  tribe.  This  naked  wild  man 
of  the  woods  seemed  to  hold  the  said  court  in 
tolerable  contempt,  and  demanded  immense  sup- 
plies, all  which  he  got ;  and  moreover,  some  time 
after,  an  invitation  to  come  down  the  ensuing 
year  for  more,  which  he  took  care  not  to  forget. 

This  noisy  chieftain  boasted  so  much  of  his 
dynasty  and  domain,  that  the  government  was 
induced  to  send  up  an  expedition  into  his  terri- 
tories to  see  if  he  had  spoken  the  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth.  It  appeared,  however, 
that  his  palace  was  nothing  but  a  hut,  the  monarch 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  3 

a   needy   savage,   the    heir-apparent,    nothing   to     ™R8T 
inherit  but  his  father's  club  and  bow  and  arrows,— 
and  his  officers  of  state  wild  and  uncultivated  as 
the  forests  through  which  they  strayed. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  hut  of  this  savage, 
saving  the  presents  he  had  received  from  govern- 
ment, but  what  was  barely  sufficient  to  support 
existence ;  nothing  that  indicated  a  power  to 
collect  a  hostile  force ;  nothing  that  showed  the 
least  progress  towards  civilization.  All  was  rude 
and  barbarous  in  the  extreme,  expressive  of  the 
utmost  poverty,  and  a  scanty  population. 

You  may  travel  six  or  seven  days  without 
seeing  a  hut,  and  when  you  reach  a  settlement,  it 
seldom  contains  more  than  ten. 

The  further  you  advance  into  the  interior,  the 
more  you  are  convinced  that  it  is  thinly  inhabited. 

The  day  after  passing  the  place  where  the 
white  man  lived,  you  see  a  creek  on  the  left 
hand,  and  shortly  after  the  path  to  the  open 
country.  Here  you  drag  the  canoe  up  into  the 
forest,  and  leave  it  there.  Your  baggage  must 
now  be  carried  by  the  Indians.  The  creek  you 
passed  in  the  river,  intersects  the  path  to  the  next 
settlement ;  a  large  mora  has  fallen  across  it,  and 
makes  an  excellent  bridge.  After  walking  an 
hour  and  a  half,  you  come  to  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  and  a  savanna  unfolds  itself  to  the  view. 

The  finest  park  that  England  boasts,  falls  far 
short  of  this  delightful  scene.  There  are  about 


40  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FIRST    two  thousand  acres  of  grass,  with  here  and  there 

•\TTt>XTI7V 

a  clump  of  trees,  and  a  few  bushes  and  single 
trees,  scattered  up  and  down  by  the  hand  of 
nature.  The .  ground  is  neither  hilly  nor  level, 
but  diversified  with  moderate  rises  and  falls,  so 
gently  running  into  one  another,  that  the  eye 
cannot  distinguish  where  they  begin,  nor  where 
they  end ;  while  the  distant  black  rocks  have  the 
appearance  of  a  herd  at  rest.  Nearly  in  the 
middle  there  is  an  eminence,  which  falls  off  gra- 
dually on  every  side ;  and  on  this  the  Indians  have 
erected  their  huts. 

To  the  northward  of  them  the  forest  forms  a 
circle,  as  though  it  had  been  done  by  art ;  to  the 
eastward  it  hangs  in  festoons ;  and  to  the  south 
and  west  it  rushes  in  abruptly,  disclosing  a  new 
scene  behind  it  at  every  step -as  you  advance  along. 
This  beautiful  park  of  nature  is  quite  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  hills,  all  arrayed  in  superbest 
garb  of  trees  ;  some  in  the  form  of  pyramids, 
others  like  sugar-loaves,  towering  one  above  the 
other,  some  rounded  off,  and  others  as  though 
they  had  lost  their  apex.  Here  two  hills  rise  up 
in  spiral  summits,  and  the  wooded  line  of  commu- 
nication betwixt  them  sinks  so  gradually,  that  it 
forms  a  crescent ;  and  there  the  ridges  of  others 
resemble  the  waves  of  an  agitated  sea.  Beyond 
these  appear  others,  and  others  past  them ;  and 
others  still  farther  on,  till  they  can  scarcely  be 
distinguished  from  the  clouds. 


JOURNEY. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  41 

There  are.no   sand-flies,  nor  bete-rouge,  nor 

. 

mosquitos  in  this  pretty  spot.  The  fire  -flies, 
during  the  night,  vie  in  numbers  and  brightness 
with  the  stars  in  the  firmament  above  ;  the  air  is 
pure,  and  the  north-east  breeze  blows  a  refreshing 
gale  throughout  the  day.  Here  the  white-crested 
maroudi,  which  is  never  found  in  the  Demerara, 
is  pretty  plentiful;  and  here  grows  the  tree  which 
produces  the  moran,  sometimes  called  balsam-capivi. 

Your  route  lies  south  from  this  place  ;  and  at  Route. 
the  extremity  of  the  savanna,  you  enter  the  forest, 
and  journey  along  a  winding  path  at  the  foot  of 
a  hill.  There  is  no  habitation  within  this  day's 
walk.  The  traveller,  as  usual,  must  sleep  in  the 
forest;  the  path  is  not  so  good  the  following 
day.  The  hills,  over  which  it  lies,  are  rocky, 
steep,  and  rugged  ;  and  the  spaces  betwixt  them 
swampy,  and  mostly  knee-deep  in  water.  After 
eight  hours'  walk,  you  find  two  or  three  Indian 
huts,  surrounded  by  the  forest  ;  and  in  little  more 
than  half  an  hour  from  these,  you  come  to  ten  or 
twelve  others,  where  you  pass  the  night.  They 
are  prettily  situated  at  the  entrance  into  a  savanna. 
The  eastern  and  western  hills  are  still  covered  with 
wood;  but  on  looking  to  the  south-west  quarter, 
you  perceive  it  begins  to  die  away.  In  these 
forests  you  may  find  plenty  of  the  trees  which 
yield  the  sweet-smelling  resin  called  Acaiari,  and 
which,  when  pounded  and  burnt  on  charcoal,  gives 
a  delightful  fragrance. 


42  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST         From  hence  you  proceed,  in  a  south-west  direc- 

JOURNEY. 

tion,  through  a  long  swampy  savanna.     Some  of 

the  hills  which  border  on  it,  have  nothing  but  a 
thin  coarse  grass  and  huge  stories  on  them ;  others 
quite  wooded ;  others  with  their  summits  crowned, 
and  their  base  quite  bare  ;  and  others  again  with 
their  summits  bare,  and  their  base  in  thickest 
wood. 

Half  of  this  day's  march  is  in  water,  nearly  up 
to  the  knees.  There  are  four  creeks  to  pass :  one 
of  them  has  a  fallen  tree  across  it.  You  must 
make  your  own  bridge  across  the  other  three. 
Probably,  were  the  truth  known,  these  apparently 
four  creeks  are  only  the  meanders  of  one. 

The  Jabim.  The  Jabiru,  the  largest  bird  in  Guiana,  feeds  in 
the  marshy  savanna  through  which  you  have  just 
passed.  He  is  wary  and  shy,  and  will  not  allow 
you  to  get  within  gunshot  of  him. 

You  sleep  this  night  in  the  forest,  and  reach  an 
Indian  settlement  about   three  o'clock  the  next 
.evening,    after   walking   one   third   of   the   way 
through  wet  and  miry  ground. 

But  bad  as  the  walking  is  through  it,  it  is 
easier  than  where  you  cross  over  the  bare  hills, 
where  you  have  to  tread  on  sharp  stones,  most  of 
them  lying  edgewise. 

The  ground  gone  over  these  two  last  days, 
seems  condemned  to  perpetual  solitude  and  si- 
lence. There  was  not  one  four-footed  animal  to 
be  seen,  nor  even  the  marks  of  one.  It  would 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  43 

have  been  as  silent  as  midnight,  and  all  as  still    FIRST 

JOURNEY. 

and  unmoved  as  a  monument,  had  not  the  jabiru 

in  the  marsh,  and  a  few  vultures  soaring  over  the 
mountain's  top,  shown  that  it  was  not  quite  de- 
serted by  animated  nature.  There  were  no  in- 
sects, except  one  kind  of  fly,  about  one-fourth 
the  size  of  the  common  house  fly.  It  bit  cruelly, 
and  was  much  more  tormenting  than  the  mosquito 
on  the  sea-coast. 

This  seems  to  be  the  native  country  of  the  Arrow-  Arrow- 
root. 
root.     Wherever  you  passed  through  a  patch  of 

wood  in  a  low  situation,  there  you  found  it  grow- 
ing luxuriantly. 

The  Indian  place  you  are  now  at,  is  not  the 
proper  place  to  have  come  to,  in  order  to  reach 
the  Portuguese  frontiers.  You  have  advanced 
too  much  to  the  westward.  But  there  was  no 
alternative.  The  ground  betwixt  you  and  another 
small  settlement  (which  was  the  right  place  to 
have  gone  to)  was  overflowed  ;  and  thus,  instead 
of  proceeding  southward,  you  were  obliged  to 
wind  along  the  foot  of  the  western  hills,  quite 
out  of  your  way. 

But  the  grand  landscape  this  place  affords, 
makes  you  ample  amends  for  the  time  you  have 
spent  in  reaching  it.  It  would  require  great 
descriptive  powers  to  give  a  proper  idea  of  the 
situation  these  people  have  chosen  for  their 
dwelling. 

The  hill  they  are  on  is  steep  and  high,  and  full 


44  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     of  immense  rocks.     The  huts  are  not  all  in  one 

JOURNEY. 

place,  but  dispersed  wherever  they  have  found  a 

place  level  enough  for  a  lodgement.  Before  you 
ascend  the  hill,  you  see  at  intervals  an  acre  or 
two  of  wood,  then  an  open  space,  with  a  few 
huts  on  it;  then  wood  again,  and  then  an  open 
space ;  and  so  on ;  till  the  intervening  of  the 
western  hills,  higher  and  steeper  still,  and  crowded 
with  trees  of  the  loveliest  shades,  closes  the  en- 
chanting scene. 

immense  At  the  base  of  this  hill  stretches  an  immense 
plain,  which  appears  to  the  eye,  on  this  elevated 
spot,  as  level  as  a  bowling  green.  The  mountains 
on  the  other  side  are  piled  one  upon  the  other  in 
romantic  forms,  and  gradually  retire,  till  they  are 
undiscernible  from  the  clouds  in  which  they  are 
involved.  To  the  south  -  south  -  west  this  far- 
extending  plain  is  lost  in  the  horizon.  The  trees 
on  it,  which  look  like  islands  on  the  ocean,  add 
greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  landscape ;  while  the 
rivulet's  course  is  marked  out  by  the  aeta  trees 
which  follow  its  meanders. 

Not  being  able  to  pursue  the  direct  course  from 
hence  to  the  next  Indian  habitation,  on  account  of 
the  floods  of  water  which  fall  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  you  take  a  circuit  westerly  along  the  moun- 
tain's foot. 

Creek.  At  last  a  large   and  deep  creek  stops   your 

progress  :   it  is   wide  and  rapid,  and  its  banks 
very  steep.     There  is  neither  curial  nor  canoe, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  45 


nor  purple-heart  tree  in  the  neighbourhood  to 
make  a  wood  skin  to  carry  you  over,  so  that  you 
are  obliged  to  swim  across  ;  and  by  the  time  you 
have  formed  a  kind  of  raft,  composed  of  boughs  of 
trees  and  coarse  grass,  to  ferry  over  your  baggage, 
the  day  will  be  too  far  spent  to  think  of  proceeding. 
You  must  be  very  cautious  before  you  venture 
to  swim  across  this  creek,  for  the  alligators  are 
numerous,  and  near  twenty  feet  long.  On  the 
present  occasion,  the  Indians  took  uncommon  pre- 
cautions, let  they  should  be  devoured  by  this  cruel 
and  voracious  reptile.  They  cut  long  sticks,  and 
examined  closely  the  side  of  the  creek  for  half  a 
mile  above  and  below  the  place  where  it  was  to  be 
crossed;  and  as  soon  as  the  boldest  had  swam  over, 
he  did  the  same  on  the  other  side,  and  then  all 
followed. 

After  passing  the  night  on  the  opposite  bank, 
which  is  well  wooded,  it  is  a  brisk  walk  of  nine 
hours  before  you  reach  four  Indian  huts,  on  a 
rising  ground,  a  few  hundred  paces  from  a  little 
brook,  whose  banks  are  covered  over  with  cou- 
courite  and  asta  trees. 

This  is  the  place  you  ought  to  have  come  to, 
two  days  ago,  had  the  water  permitted  you.  In 
crossing  the  plain  at  the  most  advantageous  place, 
you  are  above  ankle-deep  in  water  for  three  hours ; 
the  remainder  of  the  way  is  dry,  the  ground  gently 
rising.  As  the  lower  parts  of  this  spacious  plain 
put  on  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  lake,  during 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


46  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     the  periodical  rains,  it  is  not  improbable  but  that 

JOURNEY. 

this  is  the  place  which  hath  given  rise  to  the  sup- 
posed existence  of  the  famed  Lake  Parima,  or  El 
Dorado  ;  but  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

Deer.  A  few  deer  are  feeding  on  the  coarse  rough  grass 

of  this  far-extending  plain ;  they  keep  at  a  distance 
from  you,  and  are  continually  on  the  look  out. 

The  spur-winged  plover,  and  a  species  of  the 
curlew,  black,  with  a  white  bar  across  the  wings, 
nearly  as  large  again  as  the  scarlet  curlew  on  the 
sea-coast,  frequently  rise  before  you.  Here,  too, 
the  Moscovy  duck  is  numerous ;  and  large  flocks 
of  two  other  kinds  wheel  round  you  as  you  pass 
on,  but  keep  out  of  gunshot.  The  milk-white 
egrets,  and  jabirus,  are  distinguished  at  a  great 
distance  ;  and  in  the  aeta  and  coucourite  trees, 
you  may  observe  flocks  of  scarlet  and  blue  aras 
feeding  on  the  seeds. 

The  It  is  to  these  trees  that  the  largest  sort  of  toucan 

resorts.  He  is  remarkable  by  a  large  black  spot 
on  the  point  of  his  fine  yellow  bill.  He  is  very 
scarce  in  Demerara,  and  never  seen  except  near 
the  sea-coast. 

Ants' nests.  The  ants'  nests  have  a  singular  appearance  on 
this  plain ;  they  are  in  vast  abundance  on  those 
parts  of  it  free  from  water,  and  are  formed  of  an 
exceeding  hard  yellow  clay.  They  rise  eight  or 
ten  feet  from  the  ground,  in  a  spiral  form,  im- 
penetrable to  the  rain,  and  strong  enough  to  defy 
the  severest  tornado, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  47 

The  wourali  poison,  procured  in  these  last  men-     FIK6T 

JOURNF.Y. 

tioried  huts,  seemed  very  good,  and  proved  after-  -*- 
wards  to  be  very  strong. 

There   are  now  no  more   Indian   settlements  Portuguese 

frontiers. 

betwixt  you  and  the  Portuguese  frontiers.  If 
you  wish  to  visit  their  fort,  it  would  be  advisable 
to  send  an  Indian  with  a  letter  from  hence,  and 
wait  his  return.  On  the  present  occasion  a  very 
fortunate  circumstance  occurred.  The  Portuguese 
commander  had  sent  some  Indians  and  soldiers  to 
build  a  canoe,  not  far  from  this  settlement ;  they 
had  just  finished  it,  and  those  who  did  not  stay 
with  it,  had  stopped  here  on  their  return. 

The  soldier  who  commanded  the  rest,  said, 
he  durst  not,  upon  any  account,  convey  a  stranger 
to  the  fort :  but  he  added,  as  there  were  two 
canoes,  one  of  them  might  be  despatched  with 
a  letter,  and  then  we  could  proceed  slowly  on  in 
the  other. 

About  three  hours  from  this  settlement,  there 
is  a  river  called  Pirarara;  and  here  the  soldiers 
had  left  their  canoes  while  they  were  making 
the  new  one.  From  the  Pirarara  you  get  into 
the  river  Maou,  and  then  into  the  Tacatou ;  and 
just  where  the  Tacatou  falls  into  the  Rio  Branco, 
there  stands  the  Portuguese  frontier  fort,  called 
Fort  St.  Joachim.  From  the  time  of  embarking 
in  the  river  Pirarara,  it  takes  you  four  days  before 
you  reach  this  fort. 

There  was  nothing  very  remarkable  in  passing 


48  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     down  these  rivers.     It  is  an  open  country,  pro- 

JOURNEY.  f 

ducing  a    coarse    grass,    and    interspersed    with 

clumps  of  trees.  The  banks  have  some  wood  on 
them,  but  it  appears  stinted  and  crooked,  like 
that  on  the  bleak  hills  in  England. 

The  tapir  frequently  plunged  into  the  river  ; 
he  was  by  no  means  shy,  and  it  was  easy  to  get  a 
shot  at  him  on  land.  The  Kessi-kessi  paroquets 
were  in  great  abundance  ;  and  the  fine  scarlet 
aras  innumerable  in  the  coucourite  trees  at  a 
distance  from  the  river's  bank.  In  the  Tacatou 
was  seen  the  troupiale.  It  was  charming  to 
hear  the  sweet  and  plaintive  notes  of  this  pretty 
songster  of  the  wilds.  The  Portuguese  call  it 
the  nightingale  of  Guiana. 

Message          Towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  evening,  the 

from  the  .  1*1111  •   i  i 

Portuguese  canoe,  which  had  been  sent  on  with  a  letter,  met 
us  with  the  commander's  answer.  During  its 
absence,  the  nights  had  been  cold  and  stormy, 
the  rain  had  fallen  in  torrents,  the  days  cloudy, 
and  there  was  no  sun  to  dry  the  wet  hammocks. 
Exposed  thus,  day  and  night,  to  the  chilling 
blast  and  pelting  shower,  strength  of  constitution 
at  last  failed,  and  a  severe  fever  came  on.  The 
commander's  answer  was  very  polite.  He  re- 
marked, he  regretted  much  to  say,  that  he  had 
received  orders  to  allow  no  stranger  to  enter  the 
frontier,  and  this  being  the  case,  he  hoped  I 
would  not  consider  him  as  uncivil :  "  however," 
continued  he,  "  I  have  ordered  the  soldier  to  land 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  4-9 

you  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  fort,  where  we     FIR8T 

•  JOURNKY. 

can  consult  together." 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  place,  and  the 
canoe  which  brought  the  letter  returned  to  the 
fort,  to  tell  the  commander  I  had  fallen  sick. 

The  sun  had  not  risen  above  an  hour  the  morn- 
ing after,  when  the  Portuguese  officer  came  to 
the  spot  where  we  had  landed  the  preceding 
evening.  He  was  tall  and  spare,  and  appeared 
to  be  from  fifty  to  fifty-five  years  old ;  and 
though  thirty  years  of  service  under  an  equato- 
rial sun  had  burnt  and  shrivelled  up  his  face,  still 
there  was  something  in  it  so  inexpressibly  affable 
and  kind,  that  it  set  you  immediately  at  your 
ease.  He  came  close  up  to  the  hammock,  and 
taking  hold  of  my  wrist  to  feel  the  pulse,  "  I  am 
sorry,  Sir,"  said  he,  "  to  see  that  the  fever  has 
taken  such  hold  of  you.  You  shall  go  directly 
with  me,"  continued  he,  "  to  the  fort ;  and  though 
we  have  no  doctor  there,*!  trust,"  added  he,  "we 
shall  soon  bring  you  about  again.  The  orders 
I  have  received  forbidding  the  admission  of 
strangers,  were  never  intended  to  be  put  in  force 
against  a  sick  English  gentleman." 

As  the  canoe  was  proceeding  slowly  down  the 
river  towards  the  fort,  the  commander  asked, 
with  much  more  interest  than  a  question  in  or- 
dinary conversation  is  asked,  where  was  I  on  the 
night  of  the  first  of  May  ?  On  telling  him  that  I 
was  at  an  Indian  settlement  a  little  below  the 


50  WANDERINGS   IN 

FIRST     great  fall  in  the  Demerara,  and  that  a  strange 

JOURNEY.     c 

and  sudden  noise  had  alarmed  all  the  Indians, 
he  said  the  same  astonishing  noise  had  roused 
every  man  in  Fort  St.  Joachim,  and  that  they 
remained  under  arms  till  morning.  He  observed, 
that  he  had  been  quite  at  a  loss  to  form  any  idea 
what  could  have  caused  the  noise ;  but  now 
learning  that  the  same  noise  had  been  heard  at 
the  same  time  far  away  from  the  Rio  Branco, 
it  struck  him  there  must  have  been  an  earthquake 
somewhere  or  other. 

Good  nourishment  and  rest,  and  the  unwearied 
attention  and  kindness  of  the  Portuguese  com- 
mander, stopped  the  progress  of  the  fever,  and 
enabled  me  to  walk  about  in  six  days. 
Fen  st.  Fort  St.  Joachim  was  built  about  five  and  forty 
years  ago,  under  the  apprehension,  it  is  said,  that 
the  Spaniards  were  coming  from  the  Rio  Negro 
to  settle  there.  It  has  been  much  neglected ;  the 
floods  of  water  have  carried  away  the  gate,  and 
destroyed  the  wall  on  each  side  of  it;  but  the 
present  commander  is  putting  it  into  thorough 
repair.  When  finished,  it  will  mount  six  nine, 
and  six  twelve  pounders. 

In  a  straight  line  with  the  fort,  and  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  river,  stand  the  commander's 
house,  the  barracks,  the  chapel,  the  father  con- 
fessor's house,  and  two  others,  all  at  little  in- 
tervals from  each  other ;  and  these  are  the  only 
buildings  at  Fort  St.  Joachim.  The  neighbouring 


SOUTH  AMERICA.  51 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


extensive  plains  afford  good  pasturage  for  a  fine 
breed  of  cattle,  and  the  Portuguese  make  enough 
of  butter  and  cheese  for  their  own  consump- 
tion. 

On  asking  the  old  officer  if  there  were  such  a 
place  as  Lake  Parima,  or  El  Dorado,  he  replied, 
he  looked  upon  it  as  imaginary  altogether.  "  I 
have  been  above  forty  years,"  added  he,  "  in  Por- 
tuguese Guiana,  but  have  never  yet  met  with  any 
body  who  has  seen  the  lake." 

So  much  for  Lake  Parima,  or  El  Dorado,  or  the 
White  Sea.  Its  existence  at  best  seems  doubtful ; 
some  affirm  that  there  is  such  a  place,  and  others 
deny  it. 

"  Grammatici  certant,  et  adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est." 

Having    now   reached  the   Portuguese   inland 
frontier,  and  collected  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  p° 
wouraii  poison,  nothing  remains  but  to  give   a 
brief  account   of  its   composition,  its  effects,  its 
uses,  and  its  supposed  antidotes. 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  that  in  the 
extensive  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo,  far 
away  from  any  European  settlement,  there  is  a 
tribe  of  Indians  who  are  known  by  the  name  of 
Macoushi. 

Though  the  wouraii  poison  is  used  by  all  the 
South  American  savages  betwixt  the  Amazons  and 
the  Oroonoque,  still  this  tribe  makes  it  stronger 
than  any  of  the  rest.  The  Indians  in  the  vicinity 

E  2 


52  WANDERINGS   IN 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


of  the  Rio  Negro  are  aware  of  this,  and  come  to 
the  Macoushi  country  to  purchase  it. 

its  effects.  Much  has  been  said  concerning  this  fatal  and 
extraordinary  poison.  Some  have  affirmed  that 
its  effects  are  almost  instantaneous,  provided  the 
minutest  particle  of  it  mixes  with  the  blood ;  and 
others  again  have  maintained  that  it  is  not  strong 
enough  to  kill  an  animal  of  the  size  and  strength 
of  a  man.  The  first  have  erred  by  lending  a 
too  willing  ear  to  the  marvellous,  and  believing 
assertions  without  sufficient  proof.  The  following 
short  story  points  out  the  necessity  of  a  cautious 
examination. 

Anecdote.  One  day,  on  asking  an  Indian  if  he  thought  the 
poison  would  kill  a  man,  he  replied,  that  they 
always  go  to  battle  with  it ;  that  he  was  standing 
by  when  an  Indian  was  shot  with  a  poisoned 
arrow,  and  that  he  expired  almost  immediately. 
Not  wishing  to  dispute  this  apparently  satisfactory 
information,  the  subject  was  dropped.  However, 
about  an  hour  after,  having  purposely  asked  him 
in  what  part  of  the  body  the  said  Indian  was 
wounded,  he  answered  without  hesitation,  that 
the  arrow  entered  betwixt  his  shoulders,  and 
passed  quite  through  his  heart.  Was  it  the 
weapon,  or  the  strength  of  the  poison,  that 
brought  on  immediate  dissolution  in  this  case? 
Of  course  the  weapon. 

The  second   have  been  misled  by  disappoint- 
ment, caused  by  neglect  in  keeping  the  poisoned 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  53 

arrows,  or  by  not  knowing  how  to  use  them,  or     FIRST 

*  JOURNEY. 

by  trying  inferior  poison.     If  the  arrows  are  not 

kept  dry,  the  poison  loses  its  strength,  and  in  wet 
or  damp  weather  it  turns  mouldy,  and  becomes 
quite  soft.  In  shooting  an  arrow  in  this  state, 
upon  examining  the  place  where  it  has  entered,  it 
will  be  observed  that,  though  the  arrow  has  pene- 
trated deep  into  the  flesh,  still  by  far  the  greatest 
part  of  the  poison  has  shrunk  back,  and  thus, 
instead  of  entering  with  the  arrow,  it  has  re- 
mained collected  at  the  mouth  of  the  wound.  In 
this  case  the  arrow  might  as  well  have  not  been 
poisoned.  Probably,  it  was  to  this  that  a  gentle- 
man, some  time  ago,  owed  his  disappointment, 
when  he  tried  the  poison  on  a  horse  in  the  town 
of  Stabroek,  the  capital  of  Demerara ;  the  horse 
never  betrayed  the  least  symptom  of  being  affected 
by  it. 

Wishful  to  obtain  the  best  information  concern- 
ing this  poison,  and  as  repeated  inquiries,  in  lieu 
of  dissipating  the  surrounding  shade,  did  but  tend 
more  and  more  to  darken  the  little  light  that 
existed ;  I  determined  to  penetrate  into  the  coun- 
try where  the  poisonous  ingredients  grow,  where 
this  pernicious  composition  is  prepared,  and  where 
it  is  constantly  used.  Success  attended  the  ad- 
venture ;  and  the  information  acquired  made 
amends  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  passed 
in  the  solitudes  of  Guiana,  and  afforded  a  balm  to 
the  wounds  and  bruises  which  every  traveller 


54-  WANDERINGS  IN 

must  expect  to  receive  who  wanders  through  a 
thorny  and  obstructed  path. 

Thou  must  not,  courteous  reader,  expect  a 
dissertation  on  the  manner  in  which  the  wourali 
poison  operates  on  the  system ;  a  treatise  has 
been  already  written  on  the  subject,  and  after  all, 
there  is  probably  still  reason  to  doubt.  It  is 
supposed  to  affect  the  nervous  system,  and  thus 
destroy  the  vital  functions ;  it  is  also  said  to  be 
perfectly  harmless,  provided  it  does  not  touch  the 
blood.  However,  this  is  certain,  when  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  it  enters  the  blood,  death  is  the  in- 
evitable consequence ;  but  there  is  no  alteration 
in  the  colour  of  the  blood,  and  both  the  blood  and 
flesh  may  be  eaten  with  safety. 

All  that  thou  wilt  find  here  is  a  concise,  un- 
adorned account  of  the  wourali  poison.  It  may 
be  of  service  to  thee  some  time  or  other,  shouldst 
thou  ever  travel  through  the  wilds  where  it  is 
used.  Neither  attribute  to  cruelty,  nor  to  a  want 
of  feeling  for  the  sufferings  of  the  inferior  animals, 
the  ensuing  experiments.  The  larger  animals 
were  destroyed  in  order  to  have  proof  positive  of 
the  strength  of  a  poison  which  hath  hitherto  been 
doubted ;  and  the  smaller  ones  were  killed  with 
the  hope  of  substantiating  that  which  has  com- 
monly been  supposed  to  be  an  antidote. 

It  makes  a  pitying  heart  ache  to  see  a  poor 
creature  in  distress  and  pain ;  and  too  often  has 
the  compassionate  traveller  occasion  to  heave  a 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  55 

sigh  as  he  journeys  on.     However,  here,  though     FIRST 

0  J  '   f  JOURNEY. 

the  kind-hearted  will  be  sorry  to  read  of  an  un- 
offending animal  doomed  to  death,  in  order  to 
satisfy  a  doubt,  still  it  will  be  a  relief  to  know 
that  the  victim  was  not  tortured.  The  wourali 
poison  destroys  life's  action  so  gently,  that  the 
victim  appears  to  be  in  no  pain  whatever;  and 
probably,  were  the  truth  known,  it  feels  none, 
saving  the  momentary  smart  at  the  time  the  arrow 
enters. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  Macoushi  Indian  pre- 
pares his  poison,  he  goes  into  the  forest  in  quest 
of  the  ingredients.  A  vine  grows  in  these  wilds, 
which  is  called  wourali.  It  is  from  this  that  the 
poison  takes  its  name,  and  it  is  the  principal 
ingredient.  When  he  has  procured  enough  of 
this,  he  digs  up  a  root  of  a  very  bitter  taste,  ties 
them  together,  and  then  looks  about  for  two  kinds 
of  bulbous  plants,  which  contain  a  green  and 
glutinous  juice.  He  fills  a  little  quake,  which 
he  carries  on  his  back,  with  the  stalks  of  these; 
and  lastly,  ranges  up  and  down  till  he  finds  two 
species  of  ants.  One  of  them  is  very  large  and 
black,  and  so  venomous,  that  its  sting  produces  a 
fever ;  it  is  most  commonly  to  be  met  with  on 
the  ground.  The  other  is  a  little  red  ant,  which 
stings  like  a  nettle,  and  generally  has  its  nest 
under  the  leaf  of  a  shrub.  After  obtaining  these, 
he  has  no  more  need  to  range  the  forest. 

A  quantity  of  the  strongest  Indian  pepper  is 


56  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST     used;  but  this  he  has  already  planted  round  his 

JOURNEY.  L 

-hut.     The  pounded  fangs  of  the  Labarri  snake, 

and  those  of  the  Counacouchi,  are  likewise  added. 
These  he  commonly  has  in  store;  for  when  he 
kills  a  snake,  he  generally  extracts  the  fangs,  and 
keeps  them  by  him. 

tiorfofthe       Having  thus  found  the  necessary  ingredients, 
wourali      j^  scrapes  the  wourali  vine  and  bitter  root  into 

poison. 

thin  shavings,  and  puts  them  into  a  kind  of 
colander  made  of  leaves :  this  he  holds  over  an 
earthern  pot,  and  pours  water  on  the  shavings  : 
the  liquor  which  comes  through  has  the  appear- 
ance of  coffee.  When  a  sufficient  quantity  has 
been  procured,  the  shavings  are  thrown  aside. 
He  then  bruises  the  bulbous  stalks,  and  squeezes 
a  proportionate  quantity  of  their  juice  through 
his  hands  into  the  pot.  Lastly,  the  snakes'  fangs, 
ants,  and  pepper  are  bruised,  and  thrown  into 
it.  It  is  then  placed  on  a  slow  fire,  and  as  it 
boils,  more  of  the  juice  of  the  wourali  is  added, 
according  as  it  may  be  found  necessary,  and  the 
scum  is  taken  off  with  a  leaf:  it  remains  on  the 
fire  till  reduced  to  a  thick  sirup  of  a  deep  brown 
colour.  As  soon  as  it  has  arrived  at  this  state, 
a  few  arrows  are  poisoned  with  it,  to  try  its 
strength.  If  it  answer  the  expectations,  it  is 
poured  out  into  a  calabash,  or  little  pot  of  Indian 
manufacture,  which  is  carefully  covered  with  a 
couple  of  leaves,  and  over  them  a  piece  of  deer's 
skin,  tied  round  with  a  cord.  They  keep  it  in 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

the  most  dry  part  of  the  hut;  and  from  time 
to  time  suspend  it  over  the  fire,  to  counteract 
the  effects  of  dampness. 

The  act  of  preparing  this  poison  is  not  con- 
sidered as  a  common  one :  the  savage  may  shape 
his  bow,  fasten  the  barb  on  the  point  of  his  arrow, 
and  make  his  other  implements  of  destruction, 
either  lying  in  his  hammock,  or  in  the  midst  of 
his  family;  but,  if  he  has  to  prepare  the  wourali 
poison,  many  precautions  are  supposed  to  be 
necessary. 

The  women  and  young  girls  are  not  allowed 
to  be  present,  lest  the  Yabahou,  or  evil  spirit,  sp»rit- 
should  do  them  harm.  The  shed  under  which 
it  has  been  boiled,  is  pronounced  polluted,  and 
abandoned  ever  after.  He  who  makes  the  poison 
must  eat  nothing  that  morning,  and  must  con- 
tinue fasting  as  long  as  the  operation  lasts.  The 
pot  in  which  it  is  boiled,  must  be  a  new  one,  and 
must  never  have  held  any  thing  before,  otherwise 
the  poison  would  be  deficient  in  strength:  add 
to  this,  that  the  operator  must  take  particular 
care  not  to  expose  himself  to  the  vapour  which 
arises  from  it  while  on  the  fire. 

Though  this  and  other  precautions  are  taken, 
such  as  frequently  washing  the  face  and  hands, 
still  the  Indians  think  that  it  affects  the  health; 
and  the  operator  either  is,  or,  what  is  more  pro- 
bable, supposes  himself  to  be,  sick  for  some  days 
after. 


57 


58  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST         Thus  it  appears  that  the  making  the  wourali 

JOURNEY. 

poison  is  considered  as  a  gloomy  and  mysterious 

Indian  su-    r 

operation ;  and  it  would  seem  that  they  imagine 
it  affects  others  as  well  as  him  who  boils  it ;  for 
an  Indian  agreed  one  evening  to  make  some  for 
me,  but  the  next  morning  he  declined  having  any 
thing  to  do  with  it,  alleging  that  his  wife  was 
with  child ! 

Here  it  might  be  asked,  are  all  the  ingredients 
just  mentioned  necessary,  in  order  to  produce  the 
wourali  poison  ?  Though  our  opinions  and  con- 
jectures may  militate  against  the  absolute  ne- 
cessity of  some  of  them,  still  it  would  be  hardly 
fair  to  pronounce  them  added  by  the  hand  of 
superstition,  till  proof  positive  can  be  obtained. 

We  might  argue  on  the  subject,  and  by  bring- 
ing forward  instances  of  Indian  superstition, 
draw  our  conclusion  by  inference,  and  still  remain 
in  doubt  on  this  head.  You  know  superstition 
to  be  the  offspring  of  ignorance,  and  of  course 
that  it  takes  up  its  abode  amongst  the  rudest 
tribes  of  uncivilized  man.  It  even  too  often 
resides  with  man  in  his  more  enlightened  state. 

The  Augustan  age  furnishes  numerous  ex- 
amples. A  bone  snatched  from  the  jaws  of  a 
fasting  bitch,  and  a  feather  from  the  wing  of  a 
night  owl, — "  ossa  ab  ore  rapta  jejunae  canis, 
plumamque  nocturnae  strigis," — were  necessary 
for  Canidia's  incantations.  And  in  aftertimes, 
parson  Evans,  the  Welshman,  was  treated  most 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  59 

ungenteelly  by  an  enraged  spirit,  solely  because 
he  had  forgotten  a  fumigation  in  his  witch-work. 

If,  then,  enlightened  man  lets  his  better  sense 
give  way,  and  believes,  or  allows  himself  to  be 
persuaded,  that  certain  substances  and  actions, 
in  reality  of  no  avail,  possess  a  virtue  which 
renders  them  useful  in  producing  the  wished  for 
effect;  may  not  the  wild,  untaught,  unenlightened 
savage  of  Guiana,  add  an  ingredient  which,  on 
account  of  the  harm  it  does  him,  he  fancies  may 
be  useful  to  the  perfection  of  his  poison,  though 
in  fact  it  be  of  no  use  at  all  ?  If  a  bone  snatched 
from  the  jaws  of  a  fasting  bitch  be  thought 
necessary  in  incantation  ;  or  if  witchcraft  have 
recourse  to  the  raiment  of  the  owl,  because  it 
resorts  to  the  tombs  and  mausoleums  of  the  dead, 
and  wails  and  hovers  about  at  the  time  that  the 
rest  of  animated  nature  sleeps ;  certainly  the 
savage  may  imagine  that  the  ants,  whose  sting 
causes  a  fever,  and  the  teeth  of  the  Labarri  and 
Counacouchi  snakes,  which  convey  death  in  a 
very  short  space  of  time,  are  essentially  necessary 
in  the  composition  of  his  poison ;  and  being  once 
impressed  with  this  idea,  he  will  add  them  every 
time  he  makes  the  poison,  and  transmit  the  ab- 
solute use  of  them  to  his  posterity.  The  question 
to  be  answered  seems  not  to  be,  if  it  is  natural 
for  the  Indians  to  mix  these  ingredients,  but, 
if  they  are  essential  to  make  the  poison. 

So  much  for  the  preparing  of  this  vegetable 


60  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     essence ;  terrible  importer  of  death,  into  whatever 

JOURNEY. 

animal  it  enters.     Let  us  now  see  how  it  is  used ; 


let  us  examine  the  weapons  which  bear  it  to  its 
destination,  and  take  a  view  of  the  poor  victim, 
from  the  time  he  receives  his  wound,  till  death 
comes  to  his  relief. 

When  a  native  of  Macoushia  goes  in  quest  of 
feathered  game  or  other  birds,  he  seldom  carries 
his  bow  and  arrows.  It  is  the  blow-pipe  he 

tion  of  the  x    r 

blow-pipe,  then  uses.  This  extraordinary  tube  of  death  is, 
perhaps,  one  of  the  greatest  natural  curiosities 
of  Guiana.  It  is  not  found  in  the  country  of 
the  Macoushi.  Those  Indians  tell  you  that  it 
grows  to  the  south-west  of  them,  in  the  wilds 
which  extend  betwixt  them  and  the  Rio  Negro. 
The  reed  must  grow  to  an  amazing  length,  as 
the  part  the  Indians  use  is  from  ten  to  eleven 
feet  long,  and  no  tapering  can  be  perceived  in  it, 
one  end  being  as  thick  as  the  other.  It  is  of 
a  bright  yellow  colour,  perfectly  smooth  both  in- 
side and  out.  It  grows  hollow ;  nor  is  there  the 
least  appearance  of  a  knot  or  joint  throughout 
the  whole  extent.  The  natives  call  it  Ourah. 
This,  of  itself,  is  too  slender  to  answer  the  end 
of  a  blow-pipe ;  but  there  is  a  species  of  palma, 
larger  and  stronger,  and  common  in  Guiana,  and 
this  the  Indians  make  use  of  as  a  case,  in  which 
they  put  the  ourah.  It  is  brown,  susceptible  of 
a  fine  polish,  and  appears  as  if  it  had  joints  five  or 
six  inches  from  each  other.  It  is  called  Samourah, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  61 

and  the  pulp  inside  is  easily  extracted,  by  steeping    F1RST 

.  X  J  3     JOURNEY. 

it  for  a  few  days  in  water. 

Thus  the  ourah  and  samourah,  one  within  the 
other,  form  the  blow-pipe  of  Guiana.  The  end 
which  is  applied  to  the  mouth  is  tied  round  with 
a  small  silk  grass  cord,  to  prevent  its  splitting ; 
and  the  other  end,  which  is  apt  to  strike  against 
the  ground,  is  secured  by  the  seed  of  the  acuero 
fruit,  cut  horizontally  through  the  middle,  with  a 
hole  made  in  the  end,  through  which  is  put  the 
extremity  of  the  blow-pipe.  It  is  fastened  on 
with  string  on  the  outside,  and  the  inside  is  filled 
up  with  wild  bees'-wax. 

The  arrow  is  from  nine  to  ten  inches  long.  It  The  arrow. 
is  made  out  of  the  leaf  of  a  species  of  palm-tree, 
called  Coucourite,  hard  and  brittle,  and  pointed  as 
sharp  as  a  needle.  About  an  inch  of  the  pointed 
end  is  poisoned.  The  other  end  is  burnt,  to  make 
it  still  harder,  and  wild  cotton  is  put  round  it  for 
about  an  inch  and  a  half.  It  requires  consider- 
able practice  to  put  on  this  cotton  well.  It  must 
just  be  large  enough  to  fit  the  hollow  of  the  tube, 
and  taper  off  to  nothing  downwards.  They  tie  it 
on  with  a  thread  of  the  silk  grass,  to  prevent  its 
slipping  off  the  arrow. 

The  Indians  have  shown  ingenuity  in  making  a  The  quiver, 
quiver  to  hold  the  arrows.     It  will  contain  from 
five  to  six  hundred.     It  is  generally  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  inches  long,  and  in  shape  resembles  a 
dice-box   used   at  backgammon.       The  inside   is 


62  WANDERINGS    IN 

prettily  done  in  basket  work,  with  wood  not  un- 
like bamboo,  and  the  outside  has  a  coat  of  wax. 
The  cover  is  all  of  one  piece,  formed  out  of  the 
skin  of  the  tapir.  Round  the  centre  there  is 
fastened  a  loop,  large  enough  to  admit  the  arm 
and  shoulder,  from  which  it  hangs  when  used. 
To  the  rim  is  tied  a  little  bunch  of  silk  grass,  and 
half  of  the  jaw-bone  of  the  fish  called  pirai,  with 
which  the  Indian  scrapes  the  point  of  his 
arrow. 

Before  he  puts  the  arrows  into  the  quiver,  he 
links  them  together  by  two  strings  of  cotton,  one 
string  at  each  end,  and  then  folds  them  round  a 
stick,  which  is  nearly  the  length  of  the  quiver. 
The  end  of  the  stick,  which  is  uppermost,  is 
guarded  by  two  little  pieces  of  wood  crosswise, 
with  a  hoop  round  their  extremities,  which  ap- 
pears something  like  a  wheel ;  and  this  saves 
the  hand  from  being  wounded  when  the  quiver  is 
reversed,  in  order  to  let  the  bunch  of  arrows 
drop  out. 

There  is  also  attached  to  the  quiver  a  little  kind 
of  basket,  to  hold  the  wild  cotton  which  is  put  on 
the  blunt  end  of  the  arrow.  With  a  quiver  of 
poisoned  arrows  slung  over  his  shoulder,  and  with 
his  blow-pipe  in  his  hand,  in  the  same  position  as 
a  soldier  carries  his  musket,  see  the  Macoushi 
Indian  advancing  towards  the  forest  in  quest  of 
powises,  maroudis,  waracabas,  and  other  feathered 
game. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  03 

These  generally  sit  high  up  in   the    tall  and     FIRST 

•  JOfKNET. 

tufted  trees,  but  still  are  not  out  of  the  Indian's 

The  Indian 

reach;  for  his  blow-pipe,  at  its  greatest  elevation,  in  pursuit 

ofhisgame. 

will  send  an  arrow  three  hundred  feet.  Silent  as 
midnight  he  steals  under  them,  and  so  cautiously 
does  he  tread  the  ground,  that  the  fallen  leaves 
rustle  not  beneath  his  feet.  His  ears  are  open  to 
the  least  sound,  while  his  eye,  keen  as  that  of  the 
lynx,  is  employed  in  finding  out  the  game  in  the 
thickest  shade.  Often  he  imitates  their  cry,  and 
decoys  them  from  tree  to  tree,  till  they  are  within 
range  of  his  tube.  Then  taking  a  poisoned  arrow 
from  his  quiver,  he  puts  it  in  the  blow-pipe,  and 
collects  his  breath  for  the  fatal  puff. 

About  two  feet  from  the  end  through  which  he 
blows,  there  are  fastened  two  teeth  of  the  acouri, 
and  these  serve  him  for  a  sight.  Silent  and  swift 
the  arrow  flies,  and  seldom  fails  to  pierce  the 
object  at  which  it  is  sent.  Sometimes  the  wounded 
bird  remains  in  the  same  tree  where  it  was  shot, 
and  in  three  minutes  falls  down  at  the  Indian's 
feet.  Should  he  take  wing,  his  flight  is  of  short 
duration,  and  the  Indian,  following  the  direction 
he  has  gone,  is  sure  to  find  him  dead. 

It  is  natural  to  imagine  that,  when  a  slight  Effects  of 

the  poison 

wound  only  is  inflicted,  the  game  will  make  its  on  the 

*  m  wounded 

escape.     Far  otherwise ;    the  wourali  poison  al-  bird, 
most  instantaneously  mixes  with  blood  or  water, 
so  that  if  you  wet  your  finger,  and  dash  it  along 
the  poisoned  arrow  in  the  quickest  manner  pos- 


JOURNEY. 


WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     sible,  you  are  sure  to  carry  off  some  of  the  poison. 

rtTTUWPV.  *  »  *• 

Though  three  minutes  generally  elapse  before  the 
convulsions  come  on  in  the  wounded  bird,  still  a 
stupor  evidently  takes  place  sooner,  and  this  stupor 
manifests  itself  by  an  apparent  unwillingness  in 
the  bird  to  move.  This  was  very  visible  in  a 
dying  fowl. 

Having  procured  a  healthy  full-grown  one,  a 
short  piece  of  a  poisoned  blow-pipe  arrow  was 
broken  off,  and  run  up  into  its  thigh,  as  near  as 
possible,  betwixt  the  skin  and  the  flesh,  in  order 
that  it  might  not  be  incommoded  by  the  wound. 
For  the  first  minute  it  walked  about,  but  walked 
very  slowly,  and  did  not  appear  the  least  agitated. 
During  the  second  minute  it  stood  still,  and  be- 
gan to  peck  the  ground ;  and  ere  half  another 
had  elapsed,  it  frequently  opened  and  shut  its 
mouth.  The  tail  had  now  dropped,  and  the 
wings  almost  touched  the  ground.  By  the  termi- 
nation of  the  third  minute,  it  had  sat  down,  scarce 
able  to  support  its  head,  which  nodded,  and  then 
recovered  itself,  and  then  nodded  again,  lower  and 
lower  every  time,  like  that  of  a  weary  traveller 
slumbering  in  an  erect  position ;  the  eyes  alter- 
nately open  and  shut.  The  fourth  minute  brought 
on  convulsions,  and  life  and  the  fifth  terminated 
together. 

The  flesh  of  the  game  is  not  in  the  least  injured 
by  the  poison,  nor  does  it  appear  to  corrupt  sooner 
than  that  killed  by  the  gun  or  knife.  The  body 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  65 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


of  this  fowl  was  kept  for  sixteen  hours,  in  a 
climate  damp  and  rainy,  and  within  seven  degrees 
of  the  equator ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  it  had 
contracted  no  bad  smell  whatever,  and  there  were 
no  symptoms  of  putrefaction,  saving  that,  just 
round  the  wound,  the  flesh  appeared  somewhat 
discoloured. 

The  Indian,  on  his  return  home,  carefully  sus- 
pends his  blow-pipe  from  the  top  of  his  spiral 
roof;  seldom  placing  it  in  an  oblique  position,  lest 
it  should  receive  a  cast. 

Here  let  the  blow-pipe  remain  suspended, 
while  you  take  a  view  of  the  arms  which  are 
made  to  slay  the  larger  beasts  of  the  forest. 

When  the  Indian  intends  to  chase  the  peccari, 
or  surprise  the  deer,  or  rouse  the  tapir  from  his 
marshy  retreat,  he  carries  his  bow  and  arrows, 
which  are  very  different  from  the  weapons  already 
described. 

The  bow  is  generally  from  six  to   seven  feet  The  bow 

f  used  for 

long,  and  strung  with  a  cord,   spun  out  of  the  the  chase, 
silk  grass.     The  forests  of  Guiana  furnish  many 
species  of  hard  wood,  tough  and  elastic,  out  of 
which  beautiful  and  excellent  bows  are  formed. 

The  arrows  are  from  four  to  five  feet  in  length,  Arrows. 
made  of  a  yellow  reed  without  a  knot  or  joint.  It 
is  found  in  great  plenty  up  and  down  throughout 
Guiana.  A  piece  of  hard  wood,  about  nine  inches 
long,  is  inserted  into  the  end  of  the  reed,  and 
fastened  with  cotton  well  waxed.  A  square  hole, 

F 


66  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIR8T     an  inch  deep,  is  then  made  in  the  end  of  this  piece 

JOURNEY. 

of  hard  wood,  done  tight  round  with  cotton  to 

keep  it  from  splitting.  Into  this  square  hole  is 
fitted  a  spike  of  Coucourite  wood,  poisoned,  and 
which  may  be  kept  there,  or  taken  out  at  plea- 
sure. A  joint  of  bamboo,  about  as  thick  as  your 
finger,  is  fitted  on  over  the  poisoned  spike,  to  pre- 
vent accidents,  and  defend  it  from  the  rain,  and 
is  taken  off  when  the  arrow  is  about  to  be  used. 
Lastly,  two  feathers  are  fastened  on  the  other  end 
of  the  reed  to  steady  it  in  its  flight. 

Besides  his  bow  and  arrows,  the  Indian  carries 
a  little  box  made  of  bamboo,  which  holds  a  dozen 
Spikes.  or  fifteen  poisoned  spikes,  six  inches  long.  They 
are  poisoned  in  the  following  manner :  a  small 
piece  of  wood  is  dipped  in  the  poison,  and  with 
this  they  give  the  spike  a  first  coat.  It  is  then 
exposed  to  the  sun  or  fire.  After  it  is  dry  it 
receives  another  coat,  and  then  dried  again  ;  after 
this  a  third  coat,  and  sometimes  a  fourth. 

They  take  great  care  to  put  the  poison  on 
thicker  at  the  middle  than  at  the  sides,  by  which 
means  the  spike  retains  the  shape  of  a  two-edged 
sword.  It  is  rather  a  tedious  operation  to  make 
one  of  these  arrows  complete ;  and  as  the  Indian 
is  not  famed  for  industry,  except  when  pressed  by 
hunger,  he  has  hit  upon  a  plan  of  preserving  his 
arrows  which  deserves  notice. 

About  a  quarter  of  an  inch  above  the  part 
where  the  Coucourite  spike  is  fixed  into  the  square 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  69 

the  following1  instance  of  the  sloth,  life  sunk  in     PIK8T 

JOURNEY. 

death  without  the  least  apparent  contention,  with- 
out a  cry,  without  a  struggle,  and  without  a 
groan.  This  was  an  Ai,  or  three-toed  sloth.  It 
was  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  who  was 
collecting  curiosities.  He  wished  to  have  it  killed, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  skin,  and  the  wourali 
poison  was  resorted  to  as  the  easiest  death. 

Of  all  animals,  not  even  the  toad  and  tortoise 
cxcepted,  this  poor  ill-formed  creature  is  the  most 
tenacious  of  life.  It  exists  long  after  it  has  re- 
ceived wounds  which  would  have  destroyed  any 
other  animal  ;  and  it  may  be  said,  on  seeing  a 
mortally  wounded  sloth,  that  life  disputes  with 
death  every  inch  of  flesh  in  its  body. 

The  Ai  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  put  down 
on  the  floor,  about  two  feet  from  the  table;  it 
contrived  to  reach  the  leg  of  the  table,  and 
fastened  itself  on  it,  as  if  wishful  to  ascend. 
But  this  was  its  last  advancing  step :  life  was 
ebbing  fast,  though  imperceptibly ;  nor  could 
this  singular  production  of  nature,  which  has 
been  formed  of  a  texture  to  resist  death  in  a 
thousand  shapes,  make  any  stand  against  the 
wourali  poison. 

First,,  one  fore-leg  let  go  its  hold,  and  dropped 
down  motionless  by  its  side  ;  the  other  gradually 
did  the  same.  The  fore-legs  having  now  lost  their 
strength,  the  sloth  slowly  doubled  it  body,  and 
placed  its  head  betwixt  its  hind-legs,  which  still 


70  WANDERINGS   IN 

FIKST     adhered  to  the  table  ;  but  when  the  poison  had 

JOURNEY. 

affected  these  also,  it  sunk  to  the  ground,  but 
sunk  so  gently,  that  you  could  not  distinguish  the 
movement  from  an  ordinary  motion  ;  and  had  you 
been  ignorant  that  it  was  wounded  with  a  poisoned 
arrow,  you  would  never  have  suspected  that  it 
was  dying.  Its  mouth  was  shut,  nor  had  any 
froth  or  saliva  collected  there. 

There  was  no  subsultus  tendinum,  or  any 
visible  alteration  in  its  breathing.  During  the 
tenth  minute  from  the  time  it  was  wounded  it 
stirred,  and  that  was  all ;  and,  the  minute  after, 
life's  last  spark  went  out.  From  the  time  the 
poison  began  to  operate,  you  would  have  con- 
jectured that  sleep  was  overpowering  it,  and  you 
would  have  exclaimed,  "  Pressitque  jacentem, 
dulcis  et  alta  quies,  placidaeque  simillima  morti." 

There  are  now  two  positive  proofs  of  the  effect 
of  this  fatal  poison ;  viz.  the  death  of  the  dog, 
and  that  of  the  sloth.  But  still  these  animals 
were  nothing  remarkable  for  size ;  and  the 
strength  of  the  poison  in  large  animals  might  yet 
be  doubted,  were  it  not  for  what  follows. 
Experi-  A.  large  well-fed  ox,  from  nine  hundred  to  a 

ment  upon 

an  ox.  thousand  pounds  weight,  was  tied  to  a  stake  by  a 
rope  sufficiently  strong  to  allow  him  to  move  to 
and  fro.  Having  no  large  Coucourite  spikes  at 
hand,  it  was  judged  necessary,  on  account  of  his 
superior  size,  to  put  three  wild-hog  arrows  into 
him ;  one  was  sent  into  each  thigh  just  above  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  67 


hole,  he  cuts  it  half  through  ;  and  thus,  when  it 
has  entered  the  animal,  the  weight  of  the  arrow 
causes  it  to  break  off  there,  by  which  means  the 
arrow  falls  to  the  ground  uninjured  ;  so  that, 
should  this  be  the  only  arrow  he  happens  to  have 
with  him,  and  should  another  shot  immediately 
occur,  he  has  only  to  take  another  poisoned  spike 
out  of  his  little  bamboo  box,  fit  it  on  its  arrow, 
and  send  it  to  its  destination. 

Thus  armed  with  deadly  poison,  and  hungry  as 
the  hyaena,  he  ranges  through  the  forest  in  quest 
of  the  wild  beasts'  track.  No  hound  can  act  a 
surer  part.  Without  clothes  to  fetter  him,  or 
shoes  to  bind  his  feet,  he  observes  the  footsteps 
of  the  game,  where  an  European  eye  could  not 
discern  the  smallest  vestige.  He  pursues  it  through 
all  its  turns  and  windings,  with  astonishing  per- 
severance, and  success  generally  crowns  his  efforts. 
The  animal,  after  receiving  the  poisoned  arrow, 
seldom  retreats  two  hundred  paces  before  it  drops. 

In  passing  over-land  from  the  Essequibo  to  the 
Demerara,  we  fell  in  \vith  a  herd  of  wild  hogs. 
Though  encumbered  with  baggage,  and  fatigued 
with  a  hard  day's  walk,  an  Indian  got  his  bow 
ready,  and   let  fly  a  poisoned  arrow  at  one  of 
them.     It  entered  the  cheek  bone  and  broke  off.  KUI  a  wild 
The  wild  hog  was  found  quite  dead  about  one  °*' 
hundred  and  seventy  paces  from  the  place  where 
he  had  been  shot.     He  afforded  us  an  excellent 
and  wholesome  supper. 

r2 


68  WANDERINGS    IN 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


Thus  the  savage  of  Guiana,  independent  of  the 
"  common  weapons  of  destruction,  has  it  in  his 
power  to  prepare  a  poison,  by  which  he  can 
generally  ensure  to  himself  a  supply  of  animal 
food ;  and  the  food  so  destroyed  imbibes  no 
deleterious  qualities.  Nature  has  been  bountiful 
to  him.  She  has  not  only  ordered  poisonous 
herbs  and  roots  to  grow  in  the  unbounded  forests 
through  which  he  strays,  but  has  also  furnished 
an  excellent  reed  for  his  arrows,  and  another,  still 
more  singular,  for  his  blow-pipe ;  and  planted 
trees  of  an  amazing  hard,  tough,  and  elastic  tex- 
ture, out  of  which  he  forms  his  bows.  And  in 
order  that  nothing  might  be  wanting,  she  has 
superadded  a  tree  which  yields  him  a  fine  wax, 
and  disseminated  up  and  down,  a  plant  not  unlike 
that  of  the  pine-apple,  which  affords  him  capital 
bow-strings. 

Having  now  followed  the  Indian  in  the  chase, 
and  described  the  poison,  let  us  take  a  nearer 
view  of  its  action,  and  observe  a  large  animal 
expiring  under  the  weight  of  its  baneful  viru- 
lence. 

Many  have  doubted  the  strength  of  the  wou- 
rali  poison.  Should  they  ever  by  chance  read 
what  follows,  probably  their  doubts  on  that  score 
will  be  settled  for  ever. 

Further  re-  In  the  former  experiment  on  the  dog,  some 
the  viru-  faint  resistance  on  the  part  of  nature  was  observed, 
e  as  if  existence  struggled  for  superiority  ;  but  in 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  71 


hock,  in  order  to  avoid  wounding  a  vital  part,  and 
the  third  was  shot  tr aversely  into  the  extremity 
of  the  nostril. 

The  poison  seemed  to  take  effect  in  four  mi- 
nutes. Conscious  as  though  he  would  fall,  the 
ox  set  himself  firmly  on  his  legs,  and  remained 
quite  still  in  the  same  place,  till  about  the  four- 
teenth minute,  when  he  smelled  the  ground,  and 
appeared  as  if  inclined  to  walk.  He  advanced  a 
pace  or  two,  staggered,  and  fell,  and  remained 
extended  on  his  side,  with  his  head  on  the  ground. 
His  eye,  a  few  minutes  ago  so  bright  and  lively, 
now  became  fixed  and  dim,  and  though  you  put 
your  hand  close  to  it,  as  if  to  give  him  a  blow 
there,  he  never  closed  his  eye-lid. 

His  legs  were  convulsed,  and  his  head  from 
time  to  time  started  involuntarily ;  but  he  never 
showed  the  least  desire  to  raise  it  from  the 
ground ;  he  breathed  hard,  and  emitted  foam 
from  his  mouth.  The  startings,  or  subsultus 
tendinum,  now  became  gradually  weaker  and 
weaker ;  his  hinder  parts  were  fixed  in  death ; 
and  in  a  minute  or  two  more  his  head  and  fore- 
legs ceased  to  stir. 

Nothing  now  remained  to  show  that  life  was 
still  within  him,  except  that  his  heart  faintly  beat 
and  fluttered  at  intervals.  In  five  and  twenty 
minutes  from  the  time  of  his  being  wounded,  he 
was  quite  dead.  His  flesh  was  very  sweet  and 
savoury  at  dinner. 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


72  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST         Qn   taking   a   retrospective   view    of  the   two 

JOURNEY.  f 

different  kinds  of  poisoned  arrows,  and  the  animals 

General  ob- 
servations,  destroyed    by    them,    it    would   appear  that    the 

quantity  of  poison  must  be  proportioned  to  the 
animal,  and  thus  those  probably  labour  under  an 
error  who  imagine  that  the  smallest  particle  of  it 
introduced  into  the  blood  has  almost  instantaneous 
effects. 

Make  an  estimate  of  the  difference  in  size  be- 
twixt the  fowl  and  the  ox,  and  then  weigh  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  poison  for  a  blow-pipe  arrow, 
with  which  the  fowl  was  killed,  and  weigh  also 
enough  poison  for  three  wild-hog  arrows,  which 
destroyed  the  ox,  and  it  will  appear  that  the  fowl 
received  much  more  poison  in  proportion  than  the 
ox.  Hence  the  cause  why  the  fowl  died  in  five 
minutes,  and  the  ox  in  five  and  twenty. 

Indeed,  were  it  the  case  that  the  smallest  par- 
ticle of  it  introduced  into  the  blood  has  almost 
instantaneous  effects,  the  Indian  would  not  find 
it  necessary  to  make  the  large  arrow ;  that  of  the 
blow-pipe  is  much  easier  made,  and  requires  less 
poison. 

Antidotes.  And  now  for  the  antidotes,  or  rather  the  sup- 
posed antidotes.  The  Indians  tell  you,  that  if 
the  wounded  animal  be  held  for  a  considerable 
time  up  to  the  mouth  in  water,  the  poison  will 
not  prove  fatal;  also  that  the  juice  of  the  sugar- 
cane poured  down  the  throat  will  counteract  the 
effects  of  it.  These  antidotes  were  fairly  tried 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  73 


upon  full-grown  healthy  fowls,  but  they  all  died, 
as  though  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  preserve 
their  lives.  Rum  was  recommended,  and  given 
to  another,  but  with  as  little  success. 

It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  wind  introduced 
into  the  lungs  by  means  of  a  small  pair  of  bellows, 
would  revive  the  poisoned  patient,  provided  the 
operation  be  continued  for  a  sufficient  length  of 
time.  It  may  be  so ;  but  this  is  a  difficult  and 
a  tedious  mode  of  cure,  and  he  who  is  wounded  in 
the  forest,  far  away  from  his  friends,  or  in  the  hut 
of  the  savages,  stands  but  a  poor  chance  of  being 
saved  by  it. 

Had  the  Indians  a  sure  antidote,  it  is  likely 
they  would  carry  it  about  with  them,  or  resort  to 
it  immediately  after  being  wounded,  if  at  hand; 
and  their  confidence  in  its  efficacy  would  greatly 
diminish  the  horror  they  betray  when  you  point 
a  poisoned  arrow  at  them. 

One  day  while  we  were  eating  a  red  monkey, 
erroneously  called  the  baboon,  in  Demerara,  an 
Arowack  Indian  told  an  affecting  story  of  what 
happened  to  a  comrade  of  his.  He  was  present 
at  his  death.  As  it  did  not  interest  this  Indian 
in  any  point  to  tell  a  falsehood,  it  is  very  pro- 
bable that  his  account  was  a  true  one.  If  so,  it 
appears  that  there  is  no  certain  antidote,  or,  at 
least,  an  antidote  that  could  be  resorted  to  in 
a  case  of  urgent  need;  for  the  Indian  gave  up 
all  thoughts  of  life  as  soon  as  he  was  wounded. 


FIRST 
JOURNEY. 


78  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     Ynglatierra,  y  rnuchos  anos  de  mi  vida  he  pasado  en  caminar. 

_£ L  Ultimamente,  de  Demeraria  vengo,  la  qual  dexe  el  5  dia  de 

Abril,  para  ver  este  hermoso  pais,  y  coger  unas  curiosidades, 
especialmente,  el  veneno,  que  se  llama  wourali.  Las  mas  re- 
centes  noticias  que  tenian  en  Demeraria,  antes  de  mi  salida, 
eran  medias  tristes,  medias  alegres.  Tristes  digo,  viendo  que 
Valencia  ha  caido  en  poder  del  enemigo  comun,  y  el  General 
Blake,  y  sus  valientes  tropas  quedan  prisioneros  de  guerra. 
Alegres,  al  contrario,  porque  Milord  Wellington  se  ha  apode- 
rado  de  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  A  pesar  de  la  caida  de  Valencia, 
parece  claro  al  mundo,  que  las  cosas  del  enemigo,  estan  an- 
dando,  de  pejor  a  pejor  cada  dia.  Nosotros  debemos  dar  gracias 
al  Altissimo,  por  haver  sido  servido  dexarnos  castigar  ultima- 
mente,  a  los  robadores,  de  sus  santas  Yglesias.  Se  vera  VM. 
que  yo  no  escribo  Portugues  ni  aun  lo  hablo,  pero,  haviendo 
aprendido  el  Castellano,  no  nos  faltara  medio  de  communicar 
y  tener  conversacion.  Ruego  se  escuse  esta  carta  escrita  sin 
tinta,  porque  un  Indio  dexo  caer  mi  tintero  y  quebrose.  Dios 
le  de  a  VM.  muchos  afios  de  salud.  Entretanto,  tengo  el 
honor  de  ser 

Su  mas  obedeciente  servidor, 

CARLOS  WATER-TON. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  75 

active    and   deadly  foe   within  him,   which,  like     FIRST 

.  JOURNEY. 

Shakspeare's  fell  Serjeant  Death,  is  strict  in  his 

arrest,  and  will  allow  him  but  little  time — very — 
very  little  time.  In  a  few  minutes  he  will  be 
numbered  with  the  dead.  Life  ought,  if  possible, 
to  be  preserved,  be  the  expense  ever  so  great. 
Should  the  part  affected  admit  of  it,  let  a  ligature 
be  tied  tight  round  the  wound,  and  have  im- 
mediate recourse  to  the  knife : 

"  Continue,  culpam  ferro  coinpesce  priusquam, 
Dira  per  infaustum  serpant  contagia  corpus." 

And  now,  kind  reader,  it  is  time  to  bid  thee 
farewell.  The  two  ends  proposed  have  been  ob- 
tained. The  Portuguese  inland  frontier  fort  has 
been  reached,  and  the  Macoushi  wourali  poison 
acquired.  The  account  of  this  excursion  through 
the  interior  of  Guiana  has  been  submitted  to  thy 
perusal,  in  order  to  induce  thy  abler  genius  to 
undertake  a  more  extensive  one.  If  any  diffi- 
culties have  arisen,  or  fevers  come  on,  they  have 
been  caused  by  the  periodical  rains,  which  fall 
in  torrents  as  the  sun  approaches  the  tropic  of 
Cancer.  In  dry  weather  there  would  be  no 
difficulties  or  sickness. 

Amongst  the  many  satisfactory  conclusions 
which  thou  wouldest  be  able  to  draw  during  the 
journey,  there  is  one,  which,  perhaps,  would  please 
thee  not  a  little;  and  that  is  with  regard  to  dogs. 
Many  a  time,  no  doubt,  thou  hast  heard  it  hotly 
disputed,  that  dogs  existed  in  Guiana  previously 


76  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST    to  the  arrival  of   the    Spaniards  in  those  parts. 

JOURNEY.  -  11-1 

Whatever  the  Spaniards  introduced,  and  which 
bore  no  resemblance  to  any  thing  the  Indians  had 
been  accustomed  to  see,  retains  its  Spanish  name 
to  this  day. 

Thus,  the  Warow,  the  Arowack,  the  Acoway, 
the  Macoushi,  and  Carib  tribes,  call  a  hat  som- 
brero; a  shirt,  or  any  kind  of  cloth,  camisa;  a 
shoe,  zapato  ;  a  letter,  carta ;  a  fowl,  gallina ; 
gunpowder,  colvora,  (Spanish,  polvora;)  ammu- 
nition, bala  ;  a  cow,  vaca ;  and  a  dog,  perro. 

This  argues  strongly  against  the  existence  of 
dogs  in  Guiana,  before  it  was  discovered  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  probably  may  be  of  use  to  thee,  in 
thy  next  canine  dispute. 

Politics.  In  a  political  point  of  view  this  country  presents 
a  large  field  for  speculation.  A  few  years  ago 
there  was  but  little  inducement  for  any  English- 
man to  explore  the  interior  of  these  rich  and  fine 
colonies,  as  the  British  government  did  not  con- 
sider them  worth  holding  at  the  peace  of  Amiens. 
Since  that  period  their  mother-country  has  been 
blotted  out  from  the  list  of  nations,  and  America 
has  unfolded  a  new  sheet  of  politics.  On  one 
side,  the  crown  of  Braganza,  attacked  by  an 
ambitious  chieftain,  has  fled  from  the  palace  of  its 
ancestors,  and  now  seems  fixed  on  the  banks  of 
the  Janeiro.  Cayenne  has  yielded  to  its  arms. 
La  Plata  has  raised  the  standard  of  independence, 
and  thinks  itself  sufficiently  strong  to  obtain  a 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  79 


REMARKS. 


"  Incertus,  quo  fata  ferant,  ubi  sistere  detur." 


KIND  and  gentle  reader,  if  the  journey  in  quest     FIRST 

J  f  JOURNF. 

of  the  wourali  poison  has  engaged  thy  attention,  ~ 
probably  thou  mayest  recollect  that  the  traveller 
took  leave  of  thee  at  Fort  St.  Joachim,  on  the 
Rio  Branco.     Shouldest  thou  wish  to  know  what 


Fort  St. 

befell  him  afterwards,  excuse  the  following  unin-  Joachim. 
teresting  narrative. 

Having  had  a  return  of  fever,  and  aware  that 
the  farther  he  advanced  into  these  wild  and  lonely 
regions,  the  less  would  be  the  chance  of  regaining 
his  health;  he  gave  up  all  idea  of  proceeding 
onwards,  and  went  slowly  back  towards  the  Deme- 
rarara,  nearly  by  the  same  route  he  had  come. 

On  descending  the  falls  in  the  Essequibo,  which 
form  an  oblique  line  quite  across  the  river,  it  was 
resolved  to  push  through  them,  the  downward 
stream  being  in  the  canoe's  favour.  At  a  little 


80  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST     distance  from  the  place,  a  large  tree  had  fallen  into 

JOURNEY.  f      *  -' 

-  the  river,  and  in  the  mean  time  the  canoe  was 
lashed  to  one  of  its  branches. 

The  roaring  of  the  water  was  dreadful ;  it 
foamed  and  dashed  over  the  rocks  with  a  tremen- 
dous spray,  like  breakers  on  a  lee-shore,  threaten- 
ing destruction  to  whatever  approached  it.  You 
would  have  thought,  by  the  confusion  it  caused 
in  the  river,  and  the  whirlpools  it  made,  that 
Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  their  whole  progeny, 
had  left  the  Mediterranean,  and  come  and  settled 
here.  The  channel  was  barely  twelve  feet  wide, 
and  the  torrent  in  rushing  down  formed  traverse 
furrows,  which  showed  how  near  the  rocks  were 
to  the  surface. 

Nothing  could  surpass  the  skill  of  the  Indian 
who  steered  the  canoe.  He  looked  steadfastly  at 
i  it,  then  at  the  rocks,  then  cast  an  eye  on  the 
channel,  and  then  looked  at  the  canoe  again.  It 
was  in  vain  to  speak.  The  sound  was  lost  in 
the  roar  of  waters ;  but  his  eye  showed  that  he 
had  already  passed  it  in  imagination.  He  held 
up  his  paddle  in  a  position,  as  much  as  to  say, 
that  he  would  keep  exactly  amid  channel ;  and 
then  made  a  sign  to  cut  the  bush-rope  that  held 
the  canoe  to  the  fallen  tree.  The  canoe  drove 
down  the  torrent  with  inconceivable  rapidity. 
It  did  not  touch  the  rocks  once  all  the  way.  The 
Indian  proved  to  a  nicety,  "  medio  tutissimus 
ibis." 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  81 

Shortly   after   this  it  rained  almost  day   and     FIRBT 

f  JOURNEY. 

night,  the  lightning  flashing  incessantly,  and  the  - 

Thunder 


f    t          i  r>  • 

roar  of  thunder  awful  beyond  expression. 

The  fever  returned,  and  pressed  so  heavy  on  Fever  re_ 
him,  that  to  all  appearance  his  last  day's  march  turned' 
was  over.     However,  it  abated  ;  his  spirits  rallied, 
and  he  marched  again;  and  after  delays  and  in- 
conveniences he  reached  the  house  of  his  worthy 
friend   Mr.  Edmonstone,  in  Mibiri  creek,  which  Reaches 
falls  into  the  Demerara.     No  words  of  his  can  do  creek. 
justice  to  the  hospitality  of  that  gentleman,  whose 
repeated  encounters  with  the  hostile  negroes  in 
the  forest  have  been  publicly  rewarded,  and  will 
be  remembered  in  the  colony  for  years  to  come. 

Here  he  learned  that  an  eruption  had  taken 
place  in  St.  Vincent's  ;  and  thus  the  noise  heard 
in  the  night  of  the  first  of  May,  which  had  caused 
such  terror  amongst  the  Indians,  and  made  the 
garrison  at  Fort  St.  Joachim  remain  under  arms 
the  rest  .of  the  night,  is  accounted  for. 

After  experiencing  every  kindness  and  atten-  sails  for 

J  .  Granada. 

tion  from  Mr.  Edmonstone,  he  sailed  for  Granada, 
and  from  thence  to  St.  Thomas's,  a  few  days 
before  poor  Captain  Peake  lost  his  life  on  his  own 
quarter-deck,  bravely  fighting  for  his  country  on 
the  coast  of  Guiana. 

At  St.  Thomas's  they  show  you  a  tower,  a  little  st.Tho- 
distance  from  the  town,  which  they  say  formerly  tower 
belonged  to  a  Bucanier  chieftain.     Probably  the 
fury  of  besiegers  has  reduced  it  to   its   present 

G 


82  WANDERINGS    IN 

FIRST    dismantled  state.      What  still  remains  of  it  bears 

testimony  of  its  former  strength,  and  may  brave 

the  attack  of  time  for  centuries.  You  cannot 
view  its  ruins,  without  calling  to  mind  the  exploits 
of  those  fierce  and  hardy  hunters,  long  the  terror 
of  the  western  world.  While  you  admire  their 
undaunted  courage,  you  lament  that  it  was  often 
stained  with  cruelty ;  while  you  extol  their  scru- 
pulous justice  to  each  other,  you  will  find  a  want 
of  it  towards  the  rest  of  mankind.  Often  pos- 
sessed of  enormous  wealth,  often  in  extreme 
poverty,  often  triumphant  on  the  ocean,  and  often 
forced  to  fly  to  the  forests ;  their  life  was  an  ever- 
changing  scene  of  advance  and  retreat,  of  glory 
and  disorder,  of  luxury  and  famine.  Spain  treated 
them  as  outlaws  and  pirates,  while  other  European 
powers  publicly  disowned  them.  They,  on  the 
other  hand,  maintained,  that  injustice  on  the  part 
of  Spain  first  forced  them  to  take  up  arms  in  self- 
defence  ;  and  that,  whilst  they  kept  inviolable  the 
laws  which  they  had  framed  for  their  own  com- 
mon benefit  and  protection,  they  had  a  right  to 
consider  as  foes,  those  who  treated  them  as  out- 
laws. Under  this  impression  they  drew  the  sword, 
and  rushed  on  as  though  in  lawful  war,  and 
divided  the  spoils  of  victory  in  the  scale  of  justice. 
Leaves  st.  After  leaving  St.  Thomas's,  a  severe  tertian 

Thomas's, 

and  is  at-    ague,  every  now  and  then,  kept  putting  the  tra- 

tacked  by  a       ,,  .  .  A       x 

tertian  ague  veller  in  mind,  that  his  shattered  frame,  "  starting 

and  returns         jr.-         •          •         i    "  • 

to  England,  and  shivering  in  the  inconstant  blast,  meagre  and 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  83 

pale,  the  ghost  of  what  it  was,"  wanted  repairs. 
Three  years  elapsed  after  arriving  in  England, 
before  the  ague  took  its  final  leave  of  him. 

During    that  time,  several   experiments   wereExperi- 

_  *ii  T  •  TTI  ments  in 

made  with  the  wourah  poison.     In  London,  an  London  of 
ass  was  inoculated  with  it,  and  died  in  twelve 
minutes.     The  poison  was  inserted  into  the  leg  of 
another,  round  which  a  bandage  had  been  pre- 
viously tied  a  little  above  the  place  where  the 
wourali  was  introduced.      He  walked   about   as 
usual,  and  ate  his  food  as  though  all  were  right. 
After   an  hour   had    elapsed,   the   bandage    was 
untied,  and  ten  minutes  after  death  overtook  him. 
A  she-ass  received  the  wourali  poison  in  the 
shoulder,   and   died    apparently  in    ten  minutes. 
An  incision  was  then  made  in  its  windpipe,  and 
through  it  the  lungs  were  regularly  inflated  for 
two  hours  with   a  pair  of  bellows.      Suspended 
animation  returned.     The  ass  held  up  her  head, 
and  looked  around;  but  the  inflating  being  dis- 
continued, she  sunk  once  more  in  apparent  death. 
The  artificial  breathing  was  immediately  recom- 
menced, and  continued  without  intermission  for 
two  hours  more.     This  saved  the  ass  from  final 
dissolution;  she  rose  up,  and  walked  about;  she 
seemed  neither  in  agitation   nor  in  pain.     The 
wound,  through  which  the  poison  entered,  was 
healed  without  difficulty.     Her  constitution,  how- 
ever, was  so  severely  affected,  that  it  was   long 
a  doubt  if  ever  she  would  be  well  again.     She 

G  2 


84  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FIRST  looked  lean  and  sickly  for  above  a  year,  but  began 
to  mend  the  spring  after;  and  by  Midsummer 
became  fat  and  frisky. 

The  kind-hearted  reader  will  rejoice  on  learn- 
ing that  Earl  Percy,  pitying  her  misfortunes, 
sent  her  down  from  London  to  Walton  Hall, 
near  Wakefield.  There  she  goes  by  the  name  of 
"Wouralia.  Wouralia  shall  be  sheltered  from  the 
wintry  storm ;  and  when  summer  comes,  she 
shall  feed  in  the  finest  pasture.  No  burden 
shall  be  placed  upon  her,  and  she  shall  end  her 
days  in  peace. 

For  three  revolving  autumns,  the  ague-beaten 
wanderer  never  saw,  without  a  sigh,  the  swallow 
bend  her  flight  towards  warmer  regions.  He 
wished  to  go  too,  but  could  not ;  for  sickness  had 
enfeebled  him,  and  prudence  pointed  out  the  folly 
of  roving  again,  too  soon,  across  the  northern 
tropic.  To  be  sure,  the  continent  was  now  open, 
and  change  of  air  might  prove  beneficial;  but 
there  was  nothing  very  tempting  in  a  trip  across 
the  channel,  and  as  for  a  tour  through  England ! — 
England  has  long  ceased  to  be  the  land  for  ad- 
ventures. Indeed,  when  good  King  Arthur  re- 
appears to  claim  his  crown,  he  will  find  things 
strangely  altered  here ;  and  may  we  not  look  for  his 
coming  ?  for  there  is  written  upon  his  grave-stone, 

"  Hie  jacet  Arturus,  Rex  quondam  Rexque  futurus." 

"  Here  Arthur  lies,  who  formerly 
Was  king — and  king  again  to  be." 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  85 

Don  Quixote  was  always  of  opinion  that  this     FIRST 

•  JOURNEY. 

famous  king  did  not  die,  but  that  he  was  changed 

into  a  raven  by  enchantment,  and  that  the  Eng- 
lish are  momentarily  expecting  his  return.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  when  he  reigned 
here,  all  was  harmony  and  joy.  The  browsing 
herds  passed  from  vale  to  vale,  the  swains  sang 
from  the  bluebell-teeming  groves,  and  nymphs, 
with  eglantine  and  roses  in  their  neatly  braided 
hair,  went  hand  in  hand  to  the  flowery  mead,  to 
weave  garlands  for  their  lambkins.  If  by  chance 
some  rude  uncivil  fellow  dared  to  molest  them, 
or  attempted  to  throw  thorns  in  their  path,  there 
was  sure  to  be  a  knight-errant,  not  far  off,  ready 
to  rush  forward  in  their  defence.  But,  alas ! 
in  these  degenerate  days  it  is  not  so.  Should 
a  harmless  cottage  maid  wander  out  of  the 
highway  to  pluck  a  primrose  or  two  in  the 
neighbouring  field,  the  haughty  owner  sternly 
bids  her  retire;  and  if  a  pitying  swain  hasten 
to  escort  her  back,  he  is  perhaps  seized  by  the 
gaunt  house-dog  ere  he  reach  her ! 

^Eneas's  route  on  the  other  side  of  Styx, 
could  not  have  been  much  worse  than  this, 
though,  by  his  account,  when  he  got  back  to 
earth,  it  appears  that  he  had  fallen  in  with  "  Bellua 
Lernae,  horrendum  stridens,  flammisque,  armata 
Chimaera." 

Moreover,  he  had  a  sibyl  to  guide  his  steps ; 
and  as  such  a  conductress,  now-a-days,  could  not 


86  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY 


FIRST  be  g0t  for  love  or  money,  it  was  judged  most 
prudent  to  refrain  from  sauntering  through  this 
land  of  freedom,  and  wait  with  patience  the 
return  of  health.  At  last  this  long-looked  for, 
ever-welcome  stranger  came. 


SOUTH  AMERICA.  87 


SECOND   JOURNEY. 


IN  the  year  1816,  two  days  before  the  vernal    SECOND 

J  JOURNEY. 

equinox,  I  sailed  from  Liverpool  for  Pernambuco, 

.  .  Sails  for 

in  the  southern  hemisphere,  on  the  coast  ofpemam- 
Brazil.  There  is  little  at  this  time  of  the  year, 
in  the  European  part  of  the  Atlantic,  to  engage 
the  attention  of  the  naturalist.  As  you  go  down 
the  channel,  you  see  a  few  divers  and  gannets. 
The  middle-sized  gulls,  with  a  black  spot  at  the 
end  of  the  wings,  attend  you  a  little  way  into  the 
Bay  of  Biscay.  When  it  blows  a  hard  gale  of 
wind,  the  stormy  petrel  makes  its  appearance. 
While  the  sea  runs  mountains  high,  and  every 
wave  threatens  destruction  to  the  labouring 
vessel,  this  little  harbinger  of  storms  is  seen 
enjoying  itself,  on  rapid  pinion,  up  and  down  the 
roaring  billows.  When  the  storm  is  over,  it 
appears  no  more.  It  is  known  to  every  English 
sailor,  by  the  name  of  Mother  Carey's  chicken. 
It  must  have  been  hatched  in  bolus's  cave, 
amongst  a  clutch  of  squalls  and  tempests;  for, 
whenever  they  get  out  upon  the  ocean,  it  always 
contrives  to  be  of  the  party. 


88  WANDERINGS    IN 


SECOND        Thoue-h  the  calms,    and   storms,   and  adverse 

IOURNEY. 

winds  in  these  latitudes  are  vexatious,  still,  when 


winds,  you  reach  the  trade  winds,  you  are  amply  repaid 
for  all  disappointments  and  inconveniences.  The 
trade  winds  prevail  about  thirty  degrees  on  each 
side  of  the  equator.  This  part  of  the  ocean  may 
be  called  the  Elysian  Fields  of  Neptune's  empire ; 
and  the  torrid  zone,  notwithstanding  Ovid's  re- 
mark, "  non  est  habitabilis  aestu,"  is  rendered 
healthy  and  pleasant  by  these  gently-blowing 
breezes.  The  ship  glides  smoothly  on,  and  you 
soon  find  yourself  within  the  northern  tropic. 
When  you  are  on  it,  Cancer  is  just  over  your 
head,  and  betwixt  him  and  Capricorn  is  the  high 
road  of  the  Zodiac,  forty-seven  degrees  wide, 
famous  for  Phaeton's  misadventure.  His  father 
begged  and  entreated  him  not  to  take  it  into 
his  head  to  drive  parallel  to  the  five  zones,  but 
to  mind  and  keep  on  the  turnpike  which  runs 
obliquely  across  the  equator.  "  There  you  will 
distinctly  see,"  said  he,  "  the  ruts  of  my  chariot 
wheels,  '  manifesta  rotse  vestigia  cernes.':'  "  But," 
added  he,  "  even  suppose  you  keep  on  it,  and 
avoid  the  by-roads,  nevertheless,  my  dear  boy, 
believe  me,  you  will  be  most  sadly  put  to  your 
shifts ;  '  ardua  prima  via  est,'  the  first  part  of  the 
road  is  confoundedly  steep!  '  ultima  via  prona 
est,'  and  after  that,  it  is  all  down  hill !  Moreover, 
'  per  insidias  iter  est,  formasque  ferarum,'  the 
road  is  full  of  nooses  and  bull-dogs,  '  Haemo- 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

niosque  arcus,'  and  spring  guns,  '  saevaque  cir-  ,OURNEV. 
cuitu,  curvantem  brachia  longo,  Scorpio/  and 
steel  traps  of  uncommon  size  and  shape."  These 
were  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  Phaeton;  go  he 
would,  so  off  he  set,  full  speed,  four  in  hand. 
He  had  a  tough  drive  of  it ;  and  after  doing 
a  prodigious  deal  of  mischief,  very  luckily  for  the 
world,  he  got  thrown  out  of  the  box,  and  tumbled 
into  the  river  Po. 

Some  of  our  modern  bloods  have  been  shallow 
enough  to  try  to  ape  this  poor  empty-headed 
coachman,  on  a  little  scale,  making  London  their 
Zodiac.  Well  for  them,  if  tradesmen's  bills,  and 
other  trivial  perplexities,  have  not  caused  them 
to  be  thrown  into  the  King's  Bench. 

The  productions  of  the  torrid  zone  are  uncom-  Torrid 

zone. 

monly  grand.  Its  plains,  its  swamps,  its  savannas, 
and  forests,  abound  with  the  largest  serpents 
and  wild  beasts;  and  its  trees  are  the  habitation 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  feathered  race. 
While  the  traveller  in  the  old  world  is  astonished 
at  the  elephant,  the  tiger,  the  lion,  and  rhino- 
ceros, he  who  wanders  through  the  torrid  regions 
of  the  new,  is  lost  in  admiration  at  the  cotingas, 
the  toucans,  the  humming-birds,  and  aras. 

The  ocean,  likewise,  swarms  with  curiosities.  F1ym«-fi8h- 
Probably    the  flying -fish  may  be   considered  as 
one    of   the   most   singular.      This   little   scaled 
inhabitant  of  water  and  air  seems  to  have  been 
more  favoured  than  the  rest  of  its  finny  brethren. 


90  WANDERINGS   IN 

SECOND    Jt  can  rise  out  of  the  waves,  and  on  wing  visit 

JOURNEY. 

-  the  domain  of  the  birds. 

After  flying  two  or  three  hundred  yards,  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  has  dried  its  pellucid 
wings,  and  it  is  obliged  to  wet  them,  in  order 
to  continue  its  flight.  It  just  drops  into  the 
ocean  for  a  moment,  and  then  rises  again  and 
flies  on;  and  then  descends  to  remoisten  them, 
and  then  up  again  into  the  air;  thus  passing 
its  life,  sometimes  wet,  sometimes  dry,  sometimes 
in  sunshine,  and  sometimes  in  the  pale  moon's 
nightly  beam,  as  pleasure  dictates,  or  as  need 
requires.  The  additional  assistance  of  wings  is 
not  thrown  away  upon  it.  It  has  full  occupation 
both  for  fins  and  wings,  as  its  life  is  in  perpetual 
danger. 

The  bonito  and  albicore  chase  it  day  and 
night;  but  the  dolphin  is  its  worst  and  swiftest 
foe.  If  it  escape  into  the  air,  the  dolphin  pushes 
on  with  proportional  velocity  beneath,  and  is 
ready  to  snap  it  up  the  moment  it  descends  to 
wet  its  wings. 

You  will  often  see  above  one  hundred  of  these 
little  marine  aerial  fugitives  on  the  wing  at  once. 
They  appear  to  use  every  exertion  to  prolong 
their  flight,  but  vain  are  all  their  efforts;  for 
when  the  last  drop  of  water  on  their  wings  is 
dried  up,  their  flight  is  at  an  end,  and  they  must 
drop  into  the  ocean.  Some  are  instantly  de- 
voured by  their  merciless  pursuer,  part  escape 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  91 

by  swimming,  and  others  get  out  again  as  quick 
as  possible,  and  trust  once  more  to  their  wings. 

It  often  happens  that  this  unfortunate  little 
creature,  after  alternate  dips  and  flights,  finding 
all  its  exertions  of  no  avail,  at  last  drops  on 
board  the  vessel,  verifying  the  old  remark, 

"  Incidit  in  Scyllam,  cupiens  vitare  Charybdim." 

There,  stunned  by  the  fall,  it  beats  the  deck 
with  its  tail  and  dies.  When  eating  it,  you 
would  take  it  for  a  fresh  herring.  The  largest 
measure  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  inches  in  length. 
The  dolphin,  after  pursuing  it  to  the  ship,  some- 
times forfeits  his  own  life. 

In  days  of  yore,  the  musician  used  to  play  in 
softest,  sweetest  strain,  and  then  take  an  airing 
amongst  the  dolphins ;  "  inter  delphinas  Arion." 
But  now-a-days,  our  tars  have  quite  capsized  the 
custom  ;  and  instead  of  riding  ashore  on  the  dol- 
phin, they  invite  the  dolphin  aboard.  While  he 
is  darting  and  playing  around  the  vessel,  a  sailor 
goes  out  to  the  spritsailyard-arm,  and  with  a  long 
staff,  leaded  at  one  end,  and  armed  at  the  other 
with  five  barbed  spikes,  he  heaves  it  at  him.  If 
successful  in  his  aim,  there  is  a  fresh  mess  for  all 
hands.  The  dying  dolphin  affords  a  superb  and 
brilliant  sight : — 

"  Mille  trahit  moriens,  adverse  sole  colores." 
All  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  pass  and  repass 


92  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    jn  rapid  succession  over  his  body,  till  the  dark 

JOURNEY. 

hand  of  death  closes  the  scene. 

From  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  to  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  you  see  several  different  kinds  of  gulls, 
which,  probably,  are  bred  in  the  island  of  St.  Paul. 
Sometimes  the  large  bird  called  the  Frigate  Peli- 
can, soars  majestically  over  the  vessel,  and  the 
tropic  bird  comes  near  enough  to  let  you  have  a 
fair  view  of  the  long  feathers  in  his  tail.  On  the 
line,  when  it  is  calm,  sharks  of  a  tremendous  size 
make  their  appearance.  They  are  descried  from 
the  ship  by  means  of  the  dorsal  fin,  which  is  above 
the  water. 

Frigate  PC-  On  entering  the  bay  of  Pernambuco,  the  Frigate 
Pelican  is  seen  watching  the  shoals  of  fish  from 
a  prodigious  height.  It  seldom  descends  without 
a  successful  attack  on  its  numerous  prey  below. 

scenery.  As  you  approach  the  shore,  the  view  is  charm- 
ing. The  hills  are  clothed  with  wood,  gradually 
rising  towards  the  interior,  none  of  them  of  any 
considerable  height.  A  singular  reef  of  rocks 
runs  parallel  to  the  coast,  and  forms  the  harbour 
of  Pernambuco.  The  vessels  are  moored  betwixt 
it  and  the  town,  safe  from  every  storm.  You 
enter  the  harbour  through  a  very  narrow  passage, 
close  by  a  fort  built  on  the  reef.  The  hill  of 
Olinda,  studded  with  houses  and  convents,  is  on 
your  right  hand,  and  an  island  thickly  planted 
with  cocoa-nut  trees,  adds  considerably  to  the 
scene  on  your  left.  There  are  two  strong  forts 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  93 

on  the  isthmus,  betwixt  Olinda  and  Pernambuco,    SEC<>"*> 

JOURNEY. 

and  a  pillar  midway  to  aid  the  pilot. 

Pernambuco  probably  contains  upwards  of  fifty  Pemam- 

thousand  souls.     It  stands  on  a  flat,  and  is  divided 

t 

into  three  parts ;  a  peninsula,  an  island,  and  the 
continent.  Though  within  a  few  degrees  of  the 
line,  its  climate  is  remarkably  salubrious,  and 
rendered  almost  temperate  by  the  refreshing  sea 
breeze.  Had  art  and  judgment  contributed  their 
portion  to  its  natural  advantages,  Pernambuco, 
at  this  day,  would  have  been  a  stately  ornament 
to  the  coast  of  Brazil.  On  viewing  it,  it  will 
strike  you  that  every  one  has  built  his  house 
entirely  for  himself,  and  deprived  public  con- 
venience of  the  little  claim  she  had  a  right  to  put 
in.  You  would  wish  that  this  city,  so  famous  for 
its  harbour,  so  happy  in  its  climate,  and  so  well 
situated  for  commerce,  could  have  risen  under 
the  flag  of  Dido,  in  lieu  of  that  of  Braganza. 

As  you  walk  down  the  streets,  the  appearance  streets  and 
of  the  houses  is  not  much  in  their  favour.  Some 
of  them  are  very  high,  and  some  very  low ;  some 
newly  whitewashed,  and  others  stained,  and 
mouldy,  and  neglected,  as  though  they  had  no 
owner. 

The  balconies,  too,  are  of  a  dark  and  gloomy 
appearance.  They  are  not,  in  general,  open,  as 
in  most  tropical  cities,  but  grated  like  a  farmer's 
dairy-window,  though  somewhat  closer. 

There  is  a  lamentable  want  of  cleanliness  in  the 


94  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    streets.     The  impurities  from  the  houses,  and  the 

JOURNEY. 

— accumulation  of  litter  from  the  beasts  of  burden, 

are  unpleasant  sights  to  the  passing  stranger.  He 
laments  the  want  of  a  police  as  he  goes  along ; 
and  when  the  wind  begins  to  blow,  his  nose  and 
eyes  are  too  often  exposed  to  a  cloud  of  very 
unsavoury  dust. 

port  of  Per-  When  you  view  the  port  of  Pernambuco,  full  of 
ships  of  all  nations,  when  you  know  that  the 
richest  commodities  of  Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia, 
are  brought  to  it ;  when  you  see  immense  quanti- 
ties of  cotton,  dye-wood,  and  the  choicest  fruits 
pouring  into  the  town,  you  are  apt  to  wonder  at 
the  little  attention  these  people  pay  to  the  common 
comforts  which  one  always  expects  to  find  in  a  large 
and  opulent  city.  However,  if  the  inhabitants 
are  satisfied,  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said. 
Should  they  ever  be  convinced  that  inconveniences 
exist,  and  that  nuisances  are  too  frequent,  the 
remedy  is  in  their  own  hands.  At  present,  cer- 
tainly, they  seem  perfectly  regardless  of  them; 
and  the  Captain-General  of  Pernambuco  walks 
through  the  streets  with  as  apparent  content  and 
composure,  as  an  English  statesman  would  pro- 
ceed down  Charing-cross.  Custom  reconciles 
every  thing.  In  a  week  or  two  the  stranger 
himself  begins  to  feel  less  the  things  which  an- 
noyed him  so  much  upon  his  first  arrival,  and  after 
a  few  months'  residence,  he  thinks  no  more  about 
them,  while  he  is  partaking  of  the  hospitality,  and 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  95 

enjoying  the  elegance  and  splendour  within  doors    SEC°ND 
in  this  great  city. 

Close  by  the  river-side  stands  what  is  called  the  Palace  of 
palace  of  the    Captain-General   of  Pernambuco.  General. 
Its  form  and  appearance    altogether,   strike  the 
traveller  that  it  was  never  intended  for  the  use  it 
is  at  present  put  to.     . 

Reader,  throw  a  veil  over  thy  recollection  for 
a  little  while,  and  forget  the  cruel,  unjust,  and 
unmerited  censures  thou  hast    heard  against   an 
unoffending    order.      This    palace  was  once   the 
Jesuits'  college,  and  originally  built  by  those  cha- 
ritable fathers.      Ask  the   aged   and  respectable 
inhabitants  of  Pernambuco,  and  they  will  tell  thee 
that  the  destruction  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  was  Destruction 
a  terrible  disaster  to  the  public,  and  its  conse-  detyV ° 
quences  severely  felt  to  the  present  day. 

When  Pombal  took  the  reins  of  power  into  his 
own  hands,  virtue  and  learning  beamed  bright 
within  the  college  walls.  Public  catechism  to  the 
children,  and  religious  instruction  to  all,  flowed 
daily  from  the  mouths  of  its  venerable  priests. 

They  were  loved,  revered,  and  respected 
throughout  the  whole  town.  The  illuminating 
philosophers  of  the  day  had  sworn  to  exterminate 
Christian  knowledge,  and  the  college  of  Pernam- 
buco was  doomed  to  founder  in  the  general  storm. 
To  the  long-lasting  sorrow  and  disgrace  of  Por- 
tugal, the  philosophers  blinded  her  king,  and 
flattered  her  prime  minister.  Pombal  was  exactly 


96  WANDERINGS  IN 


SECOND  j.jjg  J.QOJ  these  sappers  of  every  public  and  private 
virtue  wanted.  He  had  the  naked  sword  of  power 
in  his  own  hand,  and  his  heart  was  hard  as  flint. 
He  struck  a  mortal  blow,  and  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  throughout  the  Portuguese  dominions,  was 
no  more. 

One  morning  all  the  fathers  of  the  college  in 
Pernambuco,  some  of  them  very  old  and  feeble, 
were  suddenly  ordered  into  the  refectory.  They 
had  notice  beforehand  of  the  fatal  storm,  in  pity 
from  the  governor,  but  not  one  of  them  abandoned 
his  charge.  They  had  done  their  duty,  and  had 
nothing  to  fear.  They  bowed  with  resignation 
to  the  will  of  heaven.  As  soon  as  they  had  all 
reached  the  refectory,  they  were  there  locked  up, 
and  never  more  did  they  see  their  rooms,  their 
friends,  their  scholars,  or  acquaintance.  In  the 
dead  of  the  following  night,  a  strong  guard  of 
soldiers  literally  drove  them  through  the  streets 
to  the  water's  edge.  They  were  then  conveyed 
in  boats  aboard  a  ship,  and  steered  for  Bahia. 
Those  who  survived  the  barbarous  treatment  they 
experienced  from  Pombal's  creatures,  were  at  last 
ordered  to  Lisbon.  The  college  of  Pernambuco 
was  plundered,  and  some  time  after  an  elephant 
was  kept  there. 

Thus  the  arbitrary  hand  of  power,  in  one  night, 
smote  and  swept  away  the  sciences;  to  which 
succeeded  the  low  vulgar  buffoonery  of  a  show- 
man. Virgil  and  Cicero  made  way  for  a  wild 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  97 


JOURNEY. 


beast  from  Angola !  and  now  a  guard  is  on  duty    SECOND 

-          lul    l.-.l    v 

at  the  very  gate  where,  in  times  long  past,  the 
poor  were  daily  fed ! ! ! 

Trust  not,  kind  reader,  to  the  envious  remarks 
which  their  enemies  have  scattered  far  and  near ; 
believe  not  the  stories  of  those  who  have  had  a 
hand  in  the  sad  tragedy.  Go  to  Brazil,  and  see 
with  thine  own  eyes  the  effect  of  Pombal's  short- 
sighted policy.  There  vice  reigns  triumphant, 
and  learning  is  at  its  lowest  ebb.  Neither  is  this 
to  be  wondered  at.  Destroy  the  compass,  and 
will  the  vessel  find  her  far  distant  port?  Will 
the  flock  keep  together,  and  escape  the  wolves, 
after  the  shepherds  are  all  slain  ?  The  Brazilians 
were  told,  that  public  education  would  go  on 
just  as  usual.  They  might  have  asked  govern- 
ment, who  so  able  to  instruct  our  youth,  as  those 
whose  knowledge  is  proverbial  ?  who  so  fit,  as 
those  who  enjoy  our  entire  confidence  ?  who  so 
worthy,  as  those  whose  lives  are  irreproachable? 

They  soon  found  that  those  who  succeeded  the 
fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  had  neither  their 
manner  nor  their  abilities.  They  had  not  made 
the  instruction  of  youth  their  particular  study. 
Moreover,  they  entered  on  the  field  after  a  defeat, 
where  the  officers  had  all  been  slain;  where  the 
plan  of  the  campaign  was  lost ;  where  all  was  in 
sorrow  and  dismay.  No  exertions  of  theirs  could 
rally  the  dispersed,  or  skill  prevent  the  fatal  con- 
sequences. At  the  present  day,  the  seminary  of 

H 


98  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    Olinda,  in   comparison  with  the  former  Jesuits' 

JOURNEY.  X 

college,  is  only  as  the  waning  moon's  beam  to  the 

sun's  meridian  splendour. 

When  you  visit  the  places  where  those  learned 
fathers  once  flourished,  and  see,  with  your  own 
eyes,  the  evils  their  dissolution  has  caused ;  when 
you  hear  the  inhabitants  telling  you  how  good, 
how  clever,  how  charitable  they  were ;  what  will 
you  think  of  our  poet  laureate,  for  calling  them, 
in  his  "  History  of  Brazil,"  "  Missioners,  whose 
zeal  the  most  fanatical  was  directed  by  the  coolest 
policy  ?" 

Was  it  fanatical  to  renounce  the  honours  and 
comforts  of  this  transitory  life,  in  order  to  gain 
eternal  glory  in  the  next,  by  denying  themselves, 
and  taking  up  the  cross?  Was  it  fanatical  to 
preach  salvation  to  innumerable  wild  hordes  of 
Americans  ?  to  clothe  the  naked  ?  to  encourage 
the  repenting  sinner  ?  to  aid  the  dying  Christian  ? 
The  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  did  all  this. 
And  for  this  their  zeal  is  pronounced  to  be  the 
most  fanatical,  directed  by  the  coolest  policy.  It 
will  puzzle  many  a  clear  brain  to  comprehend 
how  it  is  possible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that 
zeal  the  most  fanatical  should  be  directed  by  the 
coolest  policy.  Ah,  Mr.  Laureate,  Mr.  Laureate, 
that  "  quidlibet  audendi"  of  yours,  may  now  and 
then  gild  the  poet,  at  the  same  time  that  it  makes 
the  historian  cut  a  sorry  figure ! 

Could  Father  Nobrega  rise  from  the  tomb,  he 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  99 

would  thus  address  you : — "  Ungrateful  English-   SECOND 

-  JOURNEY. 

man,  you  have  drawn  a  great  part  of  your  in 

formation  from  the  writings  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  and  in  return  you  attempt  to  stain  its 
character  by  telling  your  countrymen  that  '  we 
taught  the  idolatry  we  believed !'  In  speaking  of 
me,  you  say,  it  was  my  happy  fortune  to  be  sta- 
tioned in  a  country  where  none  but  the  good 
principles  of  my  order  were  called  into  action. 
Ungenerous  laureate,  the  narrow  policy  of  the 
times  has  kept  your  countrymen  in  the  dark 
with  regard  to  the  true  character  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus ;  and  you  draw  the  bandage  still  tighter 
over  their  eyes,  by  a  malicious  insinuation.  I 
lived,  and  taught,  and  died  in  Brazil,  where  you 
state  that  none  but  the  good  principles  of  my 
order  were  called  into  action,  and  still,  in  most 
absolute  contradiction  to  this,  you  remark  we 
believed  the  idolatry  we  taught  in  Brazil.  Thus 
we  brought  none  but  good  principles  into  action, 
and  still  taught  idolatry ! 

"  Again,  you  state  there  is  no  individual  to 
whose  talents  Brazil  is  so  greatly  and  permanently 
indebted  as  mine,  and  that  I  must  be  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  that  system  so  successfully  pur- 
sued by  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay;  a  system  pro- 
ductive of  as  much  good  as  is  compatible  with 
pious  fraud.  Thus  you  make  me,  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  a  teacher  of  none  but  good  principles, 
and  a  teacher  of  idolatry,  and  a  believer  in 

H  2 


100  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    idolatry,  and  still  the  founder  of  a  system  for  which 

JOURNEY.  *  . 

Brazil  is  greatly  and  permanently  indebted  to  me, 

though,  by  the  by,  the  system  was  only  produc- 
tive of  as  much  good  as  is  compatible  with  pious 
fraud ! 

"  What  means  all  this  ?  After  reading  such 
incomparable  nonsense,  should  your  countrymen 
wish  to  be  properly  informed  concerning  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  there  are  in  England  documents 
enough  to  show  that  the  system  of  the  Jesuits  was 
a  system  of  Christian  charity  towards  their  fellow- 
creatures,  administered  in  a  manner  which  human 
prudence  judged  best  calculated  to  ensure  success; 
and  that  the  idolatry  which  you  uncharitably  affirm 
they  taught,  was  really  and  truly  the  very  same 
faith  which  the  Catholic  church  taught  for  cen- 
turies in  England,  which  she  still  teaches  to  those 
who  wish  to  hear  her,  and  which  she  will  continue 
to  teach,  pure  and  unspotted,  till  time  shall  be  no 
more." 
Environs  The  environs  of  Pernambuco  are  very  pretty. 

of  Pernam-  • 

buco.  You  see  country  houses  in  all  directions,  and  the 
appearance  of  here  and  there  a  sugar  plantation 
enriches  the  scenery.  Palm-trees,  cocoa-nut-trees, 
orange  and  lemon  groves,  and  all  the  different 
fruits  peculiar  to  Brazil,  are  here  in  the  greatest 
abundance. 

At  Olinda  there  is  a  national  botanical  garden : 
it  wants  space,  produce,  and  improvement.  The 
forests,  which  are  several  leagues  off,  abound  with 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  101 

birds,   beasts,   insects,  and   serpents.     Besides   a   «COND 

L      e  JOURNEY. 

brilliant  plumage,  many  of  the  birds  have  a  very  — 
fine  song.  The  troupiale,  noted  for  its  rich 
colours,  sings  delightfully  in  the  environs  of 
Pernambuco.  The  red-headed  finch,  larger  than 
the  European  sparrow,  pours  forth  a  sweet  and 
varied  strain,  in  company  with  two  species  of 
wrens,  a  little  before  daylight.  There  are  also 
several  species  of  the  thrush,  which  have  a  song 
somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  European 
thrush ;  and  two  species  of  the  linnet,  whose 
strain  is  so  soft  and  sweet  that  it  dooms  them  to 
captivity  in  the  houses.  A  bird  called  here  Sangre 
do  Buey,  blood  of  the  ox,  cannot  fail  to  engage 
your  attention :  he  is  of  the  passerine  tribe,  and 
very  common  about  the  houses ;  the  wings  and 
tail  are  black,  and  every  other  part  of  the  body  a 
flaming  red.  In  Guiana,  there  is  a  species  exactly 
the  same  as  this  in  shape,  note,  and  economy,  but 
differing  in  colour,  its  whole  body  being  like  black 
velvet ;  on  its  breast  a  tinge  of  red  appears  through 
the  black.  Thus  nature  has  ordered  this  little 
Tangara  to  put  on  mourning  to  the  north  of  the 
line,  and  wear  scarlet  to  the  south  of  it. 

For  three  months  in  the  year  the  environs  of  Seasons. 
Pernambuco  are  animated  beyond  description. 
From  November  to  March  the  weather  is  particu- 
larly fine;  then  it  is  that  rich  and  poor,  young 
and  old,  foreigners  and  natives,  all  issue  from  the 
city  to  enjoy  the  country  till  Lent  approaches, 


102  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    when  back  they  hie  them.     Villages  and  hamlets, 

JOURNEY.  * 

where  nothing  before  but   rags   was    seen,   now 

shine  in  all  the  elegance  of  dress;  every  house, 
every  room,  every  shed  become  eligible  places  for 
*  those  whom  nothing  but  extreme  necessity  could 
have  forced  to  live  there  a  few  weeks  ago :  some 
join  in  the  merry  dance,  others  saunter  up  and 
down  the  orange-groves;  and  towards  evening 
the  roads  become  a  moving  scene  of  silk  and 
jewels.  The  gaming-tables  have  constant  visitors ; 
there,  thousands  are  daily  and  nightly  lost  and 
won;  parties  even  sit  down  to  try  their  luck 
round  the  outside  of  the  door  as  well  as  in  the 
room : — 

"  Vestibulum  ante  ipsum  primisque  in  faucibus  aulae 
Luctus  et  ultrices,  posuere  sedilia  curae." 

Monteiro.  About  six  or  seven  miles  from  Pernambuco 
stands  a  pretty  little  village  called  Monteiro ;  the 
river  runs  close  by  it,  and  its  rural  beauties  seem 
to  surpass  all  others  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  there 
the  Captain-General  of  Pernambuco  resides  during 
this  time  of  merriment  and  joy. 

The  traveller,  who  allots  a  portion  of  his  time 
to  peep  at  his  fellow-creatures  in  their  relaxations, 
and  accustoms  himself  to  read  their  several  little 
histories  in  their  looks  and  gestures  as  he  goes 
musing  on,  may  have  full  occupation  for  an  hour 
or  two  every  day  at  this  season  amid  the  varie- 
gated scenes  around  the  pretty  village  of  Monteiro. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  103 

In  the  evening  groups  sitting  at  the  door,  he  may  «COND 
sometimes  see  with  a  sigh  how  wealth  and  the  - 
prince's  favour  cause  a  booby  to  pass  for  a  Solon, 
and  be  reverenced  as  such,  while  perhaps  a  poor 
neglected  Camoens  stands  silent  at  a  distance, 
awed  by  the  dazzling  glare  of  wealth  and  power. 
Retired  from  the  public  road  he  may  see  poor 
Maria  sitting  under  a  palm-tree,  with  her  elbow 
in  her  lap,  and  her  head  leaning  on  one  side 
within  her  hand,  weeping  over  her  forbidden  bans. 
And  as  he  moves  on  "  with  wandering  step  and 
slow,"  he  may  hear  a  broken-hearted  nymph  ask 
her  faithless  swain, — 

"  How  could  you  say  my  face  was  fair, 

And  yet  that  face  forsake  ? 
How  could  you  win  my  virgin  heart, 
Yet  leave  that  heart  to  break  ?" 

One  afternoon,  in  an  unfrequented  part  not  far 
from  Monteiro,  these  adventures  were  near  being 
brought  to  a  speedy  and  a  final  close :  six  or  seven 
blackbirds,  with  a  white  spot  betwixt  the  shoulders, 
were  making  a  noise,  and  passing  to  and  fro  on 
the  lower  branches  of  a  tree  in  an  abandoned, 
weed-grown,  orange  orchard.  In  the  long  grass 
underneath  the  tree,  apparently  a  pale  green 
grasshopper  was  fluttering,  as  though  it  had  got 
entangled  in  it.  When  you  once  fancy  that  the 
thing  you  are  looking  at  is  really  what  you  take 
it  for,  the  more  you  look  at  it  the  more  you  are 
convinced  it  is  so.  In  the  present  case,  this  was 


104  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    a    grasshopper   beyond   all   doubt,   and   nothing 

JOURNEY.  r  .       . 

-  more  remained  to  be  done  but  to  wait  in  patience 
till  it  had  settled,  in  order  that  you  might  run 
no  risk  of  breaking  its  legs  in  attempting  to  lay 
hold  of  it  while  it  was  fluttering — it  still  kept 
fluttering;    and    having    quietly    approached   it, 
intending  to  make  sure  of  it — behold,  the  head  of 
a  large  rattlesnake  appeared  in  the  grass  close  by : 
an  instantaneous  spring  backwards  prevented  fatal 
consequences.     What  had  been  taken  for  a  grass- 
hopper was,  in  fact,  the  elevated   rattle   of  the 
snake  in  the  act  of  announcing  that  he  was  quite 
prepared,  though  unwilling,  to  make  a  sure  and 
deadly  spring.     He  shortly  after  passed   slowly 
from  under  the  orange-tree  to  the  neighbouring 
wood  on  the  side  of  a  hill :  as  he  moved  over  a 
place  bare  of  grass  and  weeds,  he  appeared  to  be 
about  eight  feet  long ;  it  was  he  who  had  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  birds,  and  made  them  heedless 
of  danger  from  another  quarter :  they  flew  away 
on  his  retiring  ;  one  alone  left  his  little  life  in  the 
air,   destined  to  become  a  specimen,  mute   and 
motionless,  for  the  inspection  of  the  curious  in  a 
far  distant  clime. 
Rainy  It  was  now  the  rainy  season;  the  birds  were 

Seasons.  .  _ 

moulting ;  fifty-eight  specimens  of  the  handsomest 
of  them  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pernambuco  had 
been  collected ;  and  it  was  time  to  proceed  else- 
where. The  conveyance  to  the  interior  was  by 
horses;  and  this  mode,  together  with  the  heavy 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  105 

rains,  would  expose  preserved  specimens  to  almost    8ECOND 
certain  damage.     The  journey  to  Maranham  by  - 
land,  would  take  at  least  forty  days.     The  route 
was  not  wild  enough  to  engage  the  attention  of 
an  explorer,  or  civilized  enough  to  afford  common 
comforts   to  a  traveller.     By  sea  there  were  no 
opportunities,  except  slave  ships.     As  the  trans- 
porting poor  negroes  from  port  to  port  for  sale 
pays  well  in  Brazil,  the  ships'  decks  are  crowded 
with  them.     This  would  not  do. 

Excuse  here,  benevolent  reader,  a  small  tribute 
of  gratitude  to  an  Irish  family,  whose  urbanity 
and  goodness  have  long  gained  it  the  esteem  and 
respect  of  all  ranks  in  Pernambuco.  The  kind- 
ness and  attention  I  received  from  Dennis  Kearney, 
Esq.  and  his  amiable  lady,  will  be  remembered 
with  gratitude  to  my  dying  day. 

After  wishing  farewell  to  this  hospitable  family,  Embark* 
I   embarked  on  board  a  Portuguese  brig,  with  enne. 
poor   accommodations,   for   Cayenne   in    Guiana. 
The  most  eligible  bed-room  was  the  top  of  a  hen- 
coop  on  deck.      Even  here,  an  unsavoury  little 
beast,  called  bug,  was  neither  shy  nor  deficient  in 
appetite. 

The  Portuguese  seamen  are  famed  for  catching 
fish.  One  evening,  under  the  line,  four  sharks 
made  their  appearance  in  the  wake  of  the  vessel. 
The  sailors  caught  them  all. 

On  the  fourteenth  day  after  leaving  Pernam- 
buco, the  brig  cast  anchor  off  the  island  of 


106  WANDERINGS   IN 

SECOND    Cayenne.     The  entrance  is  beautiful.     To  wind- 

JOURNEY. 

ward,  not  far   oft,  there   are   two  bold   wooded 


islands,  called  the  Father  and  Mother ;  and  near 
them  are  others,  their  children,  smaller,  though  as 
beautiful  as  their  parents.  Another  is  seen  a  long 
way  to  leeward  of  the  family,  and  seems  as  if 
it  had  strayed  from  home,  and  cannot  find  his 
way  back.  The  French  call  it  "  1'enfant  perdu." 
As  you  pass  the  islands,  the  stately  hills  on  the 
main,  ornamented  with  ever-verdant  foliage,  show 
you  that  this  is  by  far  the  sublimest  scenery  on  the 
sea-coast,  from  the  Amazons  to  the  Oroonoquo. 
On  casting  your  eye  towards  Dutch  Guiana, 
you  will  see  that  the  mountains  become  uncon- 
nected, and  few  in  number,  and  long  before 
you  reach  Surinam,  the  Atlantic  wave  washes  a 
flat  and  muddy  shore. 

constable  Considerably  to  windward  of  Cayenne,  and 
about  twelve  leagues  from  land,  stands  a  stately 
and  towering  rock,  called  the  Constable.  As 
nothing  grows  on  it  to  tempt  greedy  and 
aspiring  man  to  claim  it  as  his  own,  the  sea- 
fowl  rest  and  raise  their  offspring  there.  The 
bird  called  the  frigate  is  ever  soaring  round 
its  rugged  summit.  Hither  the  phaeton  bends 
his  rapid  flight,  and  flocks  of  rosy  flamingos 
here  defy  the  fowler's  cunning.  All  along  the 
coast,  opposite  the  Constable,  and  indeed  on 
every  uncultivated  part  of  it  to  windward  and 
leeward,  are  seen  innumerable  quantities  of 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  107 

snow-white  egrets,  scarlet  curlews,  spoonbills,  and    SECOND 

JOURNEY. 

flamingos. 

Cayenne  is  capable  of  being  a  noble  and  pro-  colony  of 

i        .  •  i  .       .        ,  Cayenne. 

ductive  colony.  At  present  it  is  thought  to  be 
the  poorest  on  the  coast  of  Guiana.  Its  estates 
are  too  much  separated  one  from  the  other,  by 
immense  tracts  of  forest ;  and  the  revolutionary 
war,  like  a  cold  eastern  wind,  has  chilled  their 
zeal,  and  blasted  their  best  expectations. 

The  clove-tree,  the  cinnamon,  pepper  and 
nutmeg,  and  many  other  choice  spices  and  fruits 
of  the  eastern  and  Asiatic  regions,  produce  abun- 
dantly in  Cayenne. 

The  town  itself  is  prettily  laid  out,  and  was  The  town, 
once  well  fortified.  They  tell  you  it  might  easily 
have  been  defended  against  the  invading  force  of 
the  two  united  nations ;  but  Victor  Hugues,  its 
governor,  ordered  the  tri-coloured  flag  to  be 
struck  ;  and  ever  since  that  day,  the  standard  of 
Braganza  has  waved  on  the  ramparts  of  Cayenne. 

He  who  has  received  humiliations  from  thecovemorof 
hand  of  this  haughty,  iron-hearted  governor,  may 
see  him  now  in  Cayenne,  stripped  of  all  his 
revolutionary  honours,  broken  down  and  ruined, 
and  under  arrest  in  his  own  house.  He  has 
four  accomplished  daughters,  respected  by  the 
whole  town.  Towards  the  close  of  day,  when  the 
sun's  rays  are  no  longer  oppressive,  these  much- 
pitied  ladies  are  seen  walking  up  and  down  the 
balcony  with  their  aged  parent,  trying,  by  their 


108  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    kind  and  filial   attention,  to  remove  the  settled 

JOURNEY. 

-  gloom  from  his  too  guilty  brow. 

Theinha-  This  was  not  the  time  for  a  traveller  to  enjoy 
Cayenne.  The  hospitality  of  the  inhabitants  was 
the  same  as  ever,  but  they  had  lost  their  wonted 
gaiety  in  public,  and  the  stranger  might  read 
in  their  countenances,  as  the  recollection  of  re- 
cent humiliations  and  misfortunes  every  now  and 
then  kept  breaking  in  upon  them,  that  they 
were  still  in  sorrow  for  their  fallen  country :  the 
victorious  hostile  cannon  of  Waterloo  still  sounded 
in  their  ears :  their  Emperor  was  a  prisoner 
amongst  the  hideous  rocks  of  St.  Helena ;  and 
many  a  Frenchman  who  had  fought  and  bled  for 
France  was  now  amongst  them,  begging  for  a 
little  support  to  prolong  a  life  which  would  be 
forfeited  on  the  parent  soil.  To  add  another 
handful  to  the  cypress  and  wormwood  already 
scattered  amongst  these  polite  colonists,  they  had 
just  received  orders  from  the  court  of  Janeiro  to 
put  on  deep  mourning  for  six  months,  and  half- 
mourning  for  as  many  more,  on  account  of  the 
death  of  the  queen  of  Portugal. 

About  a  day's  journey  in  the  interior,  is  the 

celebrated   national   plantation.      This   spot  was 

judiciously  chosen,  for  it  is  out  of  the  reach  of 

enemies'  cruisers.     It  is  called  La  Gabrielle.     No 

plantation  in  the   western   world   can   vie   with 

plantation  La   Gabrielle.       Its  spices   are   of  the   choicest 

brieUe.  *"  kind ;  its  soil  particularly  favourable  to  them ;  its 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  109 

arrangements  beautiful;  and  its  directeur,  Mon-    SECOND 

JOURNEY. 

sieur  Martin,  a  botanist  of  first-rate  abilities.  This  — 
indefatigable  naturalist  ranged  through  the  East, 
under  a  royal  commission,  in  quest  of  botanical 
knowledge;  and  during  his  stay  in  the  western 
regions,  has  sent  over  to  Europe  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  thousand  specimens,  in  botany  and 
zoology.  La  Gabrielle  is  on  a  far-extending 
range  of  woody  hills.  Figure  to  yourself  a  hill 
in  the  shape  of  a  bowl  reversed,  with  the  buildings 
on  the  top  of  it,  and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  the 
appearance  of  La  Gabrielle.  You  approach  the 
house  through  a  noble  avenue,  five  hundred  toises 
long,  of  the  choicest  tropical  fruit-trees,  planted 
with  the  greatest  care  and  judgment ;  and  should 
you  chance  to  stray  through  it,  after  sunset,  when 
the  clove-trees  are  in  blossom,  you  would  fancy 
yourself  in  the  Idalian  groves,  or  near  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  where  they  were  burning  the  finest 
incense,  as  the  queen  of  Egypt  passed. 

On  La  Gabrielle  there  are  twenty-two  thousand 
clove-trees  in  full  bearing.  They  are  planted 
thirty  feet  asunder.  Their  lower  branches  touch 
the  ground.  In  general  the  trees  are  topped  at 
five  and  twenty  feet  high;  though  you  will  see 
some  here  towering  up  above  sixty.  The  black 
pepper,  the  cinnamon,  and  nutmeg  are  also  in 
great  abundance  here,  and  very  productive. 

While  the  stranger  views  the  spicy  groves  of 
La  Gabrielle,  and  tastes  the  most  delicious  fruits 


110  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND  which  have  been  originally  imported  hither  from 
-  all  parts  of  the  tropical  world,  he  will  thank  the 
government  which  has  supported,  and  admire  the 
talents  of  the  gentleman  who  has  raised  to  its 
present  grandeur,  this  noble  collection  of  useful 
fruits.  There  is  a  large  nursery  attached  to  La 
Gabrielle,  where  plants  of  all  the  different  species 
are  raised  and  distributed  gratis  to  those  colonists 
who  wish  to  cultivate  them. 

The  cock  Not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  river  Oyapoc,  to 
windward  of  Cayenne,  is  a  mountain  which  con- 
tains an  immense  cavern.  Here  the  Cock  of  the 
Rock  is  plentiful.  He  is  about  the  size  of  a  fan- 
tail  pigeon,  his  colour  a  bright  orange,  and  his 
wings  and  tail  appear  as  though  fringed ;  his  head 
is  ornamented  with  a  superb  double-feathery 
crest,  edged  with  purple.  He  passes  the  day 
amid  gloomy  damps  and  silence,  and  only  issues 
out  for  food  a  short  time  at  sunrise  and  sunset. 
He  is  of  the  gallinaceous  tribe.  The  South- 
American  Spaniards  call  him  "  Gallo  del  Rio 
Negro,"  (Cock  of  the  Black  River,)  and  suppose 
that  he  is  only  to  be  met  with  in  the  vicinity  of 
that  far-inland  stream ;  but  he  is  common  in  the 
interior  of  Demerara,  amongst  the  huge  rocks  in 
the  forests  of  Macoushia ;  and  he  has  been  shot 
south  of  the  line,  in  the  captainship  of  Para. 

The  bird  called  by  Buffon  Grand  Gobe-mouche, 
has  never  been  found  in  Demerara,  although  very 
common  in  Cayenne.  He  is  not  quite  so  large  as 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 


the  jackdaw,  and  is  entirely  black,  except  a  large   SECOND 

. 

spot  under  the  throat,  which  is  a  glossy  purple. 


JOURNEY. 


You  may  easily  sail  from  Cayenne  to  the  river  P 
Surinam  in  two  days.  Its  capital,  Paramaribo,  is 
handsome,  rich,  and  populous  :  hitherto  it  has 
been  considered  by  far  the  finest  town  in  Guiana  ; 
but  probably  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  the 
capital  of  Demerara  may  claim  the  prize  of  supe- 
riority. You  may  enter  a  creek  above  Paramaribo, 
and  travel  through  the  interior  of  Surinam,  till 
you  come  to  the  Nicari,  which  is  close  to  the 
large  river  Coryntin.  When  you  have  passed  this 
river,  there  is  a  good  public  road  to  New  Amster- 
dam, the  capital  of  Berbice. 

On  viewing    New  Amsterdam,   it  will   imme-  New  Am- 

sterdam. 
diately  strike  you  that  something  or  other  has  in- 

tervened to  prevent  its  arriving  at  that  state  of 
wealth  and  consequence  for  which  its  original  plan 
shows  it  was  once  intended.  What  has  caused 
this  stop  in  its  progress  to  the  rank  of  a  fine  and 
populous  city,  remains  for  those  to  find  out  who 
are  interested  in  it  ;  certain  it  is,  that  New  Am- 
sterdam has  been  languid  for  some  years,  and  now 
the  tide  of  commerce  seems  ebbing  fast  from  the 
shores  of  Berbice. 

Gay  and  blooming  is  the  sister  colony  of  Deme-  Demerara. 
rara.     Perhaps,  kind  reader,  thou  hast  not  forgot 
that  it  was  from  Stabroek,  the  capital  of  Deme- 
rara, that  the  adventurer  set  out,  some  years  ago, 
to  reach  the  Portuguese  frontier  fort,  and  collect 


112  SOUTH    AMERICA. 


wourali  poison.  It  was  not  intended,  when 
this  second  sally  was  planned  in  England,  to  have 
visited  Stabroek  again  by  the  route  here  described. 
The  plan  was,  to  have  ascended  the  Amazons 
from  Para,  and  got  into  the  Rio  Negro,  and  from 
thence  to  have  returned  towards  the  source  of  the 
Essequibo,  in  order  to  examine  the  crystal  moun- 
tains, and  look  once  more  for  Lake  Parima,  or  the 
White  Sea  ;  but  on  arriving  at  Cayenne,  the 
current  was  running  with  such  amazing  rapidity 
to  leeward,  that  a  Portuguese  sloop,  which  had 
been  beating  up  towards  Para  for  four  weeks,  was 
then  only  half  way.  Finding,  therefore,  that  a 
beat  to  the  Amazons  would  be  long,  tedious,  and 
even  uncertain,  and  aware  that  the  season  for  pro- 
curing birds  in  fine  plumage  had  already  set  in, 
I  left  Cayenne  in  an  American  ship  for  Para- 
maribo, went  through  the  interior  to  the  Coryntin, 
stopped  a  few  days  in  New  Amsterdam,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Demerara.  If,  gentle  reader,  thy  pa- 
tience be  not  already  worn  out,  and  thy  eyes  half 
closed  in  slumber,  by  perusing  the  dull  adven- 
tures of  this  second  sally,  perhaps  thou  wilt 
pardon  a  line  or  two  on  Demerara  ;  and  then  we 
will  retire  to  its  forests,  to  collect  and  examine 
the  economy  of  its  most  rare  and  beautiful  birds, 
and  give  the  world  a  new  mode  of  preserving 
them. 

stabroek.        Stabroek,  the  capital  of  Demerara,  has  been 
rapidly  increasing  for  some  years  back;  and  if 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  113 

prosperity  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  present  en-    SEC°ND 

.     .  .     .  JOURNEY. 

terprismg  spirit,  Stabroek,  ere  long,  will  be  of  the 

first  colonial  consideration.  It  stands  on  the 
eastern  bank  at  the  mouth  of  the  Demerara,  and 
enjoys  all  the  advantages  of  the  refreshing  sea 
breeze ;  the  streets  are  spacious,  well  bricked,  and 
elevated,  the  trenches  clean,  the  bridges  excellent, 
and  the  houses  handsome.  Almost  every  commo- 
dity and  luxury  of  London  may  be  bought  in  the 
shops  at  Stabroek :  its  market  wants  better  regu- 
lations. The  hotels  are  commodious,  clean,  and 
well  attended.  Demerara  boasts  as  fine  and  well- 
disciplined  militia  as  any  colony  in  the  western 
world. 

The  court  of  justice,  where,  in  times  of  old,  the  court  of 
bandage  was  easily  removed  from  the  eyes  of  the 
goddess,  and  her  scales  thrown  out  of  equilibrium* 
now  rises  in  dignity  under  the  firmness,  talents, 
and  urbanity  of  Mr.  President  Rough. 

The  plantations  have  an  appearance  of  high  The  plan- 
cultivation;  a  tolerable  idea  may  be  formed  of 
their  value,  when  you  know  that  last  year  Deme- 
rara numbered  seventy-two  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  slaves.  They  made  above  forty- 
four  million  pounds  of  sugar,  near  two  million 
gallons  of  rum,  above  eleven  million  pounds  of 
coffee,  and  three  million  eight  hundred  and  nine- 
teen thousand  five  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of 
cotton ;  the  receipt  into  the  public  chest  was  five 
hundred  and  fifty-three  thousand  nine  hundred 


114  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND   an(]  fifty-six  guilders ;  the  public  expenditure,  four 

JOURNEY.  *  °  1.1111 

hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and 

three  guilders. 

slavery.  Slavery  can  never  be  defended ;  he  whose  heart 
is  not  of  iron  can  never  wish  to  be  able  to  defend 
it :  while  he  heaves  a  sigh  for  the  poor  negro  in 
captivity,  he  wishes  from  his  soul  that  the  traffic 
had  been  stifled  in  its  birth ;  but,  unfortunately, 
the  governments  of  Europe  nourished  it,  and  now 
that  they  are  exerting  themselves  to  do  away  the 
evil,  and  ensure  liberty  to  the  sons  of  Africa,  the 
situation  of  the  plantation  slaves  is  depicted  as 
truly  deplorable,  and  their  condition  wretched. 
It  is  not  so.  A  Briton's  heart,  proverbially  kind 
and  generous,  is  not  changed  by  climate,  or  its 
streams  of  compassion  dried  up  by  the  scorching 
heat  of  a  Demerara  sun ;  he  cheers  his  negroes  in 
labour,  comforts  them  in  sickness,  is  kind  to  them 
in  old  age,  and  never  forgets  that  they  are  his 
fellow-creatures. 

Instances  of  cruelty  and  depravity  certainly 
occur  here  as  well  as  all  the  world  over ;  but  -the 
edicts  of  the  colonial  government  are  well  calcu- 
lated to  prevent  them;  and  the  British  planter, 
except  here  and  there  one,  feels  for  the  wrongs 
done  to  a  poor  ill-treated  slave,  and  shows  that 
his  heart  grieves  for  him  by  causing  immediate 
redress,  and  preventing  a  repetition. 

Long  may  ye  flourish,  peaceful  and  liberal  in- 
habitants of  Demerara.  Your  doors  are  ever  open 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  115 

to  harbour  the  harbourless ;   your  purses  never 

* 

shut  to  the  wants  of  the  distressed :  many 
ruined  fugitive  from  the  Oroonoque  will  bless 
your  kindness  to  him  in  the  hour  of  need,  when 
flying  from  the  woes  of  civil  discord,  without  food 
or  raiment,  he  begged  for  shelter  underneath  your 
roof.  The  poor  sufferer  in  Trinidad,  who  lost  his 
all  in  the  devouring  flames,  will  remember  your 
charity  to  his  latest  moments.  The  traveller,  as 
he  leaves  your  port,  casts  a  longing,  lingering 
look  behind ;  your  attentions,  your  hospitality, 
your  pleasantry  and  mirth  are  uppermost  in  his 
thoughts;  your  prosperity  is  close  to  his  heart. 
Let  us  now,  gentle  reader,  retire  from  the  busy 
scenes  of  man,  and  journey  on  towards  the  wilds 
in  quest  of  the  feathered  tribe. 

Leave  behind  you  your  high-seasoned  dishes,  instructions' 

•  T  1      T  •  1    .  t0  future 

your  wines,  aCnd  your  delicacies ;  carry  nothing  adventurers 
but  what  is  necessary  for  your  own  comfort,  and 
the  object  in  view,  and  depend  upon  the  skill  of 
an  Indian,  or  your  own,  for  fish  and  game.  A 
sheet,  about  twelve  feet  long,  ten  wide,  painted, 
and  with  loop-holes  on  each  side,  will  be  of  great 
service :  in  a  few  minutes  you  can  suspend  it 
betwixt  two  trees  in  the  shape  of  a  roof.  Under 
this,  in  your  hammock,  you  may  defy  the  pelting 
shower,  and  sleep  heedless  of  the  dews  of  night. 
A  hat,  a  shirt,  and  a  light  pair  of  trowsers,  will  be 
all  the  raiment  you  require.  Custom  will  soon 
teach  you  to  tread  lightly  and  barefoot  on  the 

i  2 


116  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND   little  inequalities   of  the  ground,  and  show  you 

JOURNEY.  f  * 

— how  to  pass  on,  unwounded,  amid  the  mantling 

briars. 

snakes.  Snakes,  in  these  wilds,  are  certainly  an  annoy- 
ance, though  perhaps  more  in  imagination  than 
reality;  for  you  must  recollect  that  the  serpent 
is  never  the  first  to  offend :  his  poisonous  fang 
was  not  given  him  for  conquest :  he  never  inflicts 
a  wound  with  it,  but  to  defend  existence.  Pro- 
vided you  walk  cautiously,  and  do  not  absolutely 
touch  him,  you  may  pass  in  safety  close  by  him. 
As  he  is  often  coiled  up  on  the  ground,  and 
amongst  the  branches  of  the  trees  above  you,  a 
degree  of  circumspection  is  necessary,  lest  you 
unwarily  disturb  him. 

Tigers.  Tigers  are  too  few,  and  too  apt  to  fly  before 
£  the  noble  face  of  man,  to  require  a  moment  of  your 
attention. 

insects.  The  bite  of  the  most  noxious  of  the  insects,  at 
the  very  worst,  only  causes  a  transient  fever,  with 
a  degree  of  pain  more  or  less. 

Birds.  Birds  in  general,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  not 

common  in  the  very  remote  parts  of  the  forest. 
The  sides  of  rivers,  lakes,  and  creeks,  the  borders 
of  savannas,  the  old  abandoned  habitations  of 
Indians,  and  wood -cutters,  seem  to  be  their 
favourite  haunts. 

Humming-  Though  least  in  size,  the  glittering  mantle  of 
the  humming-bird  entitles  it  to  the  first  place  in 
the  list  of  the  birds  of  the  new  world.  It  may 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  117 

truly  be  called  the  bird  of  paradise ;  and  had  it    SECOND 

JOURNEY. 

existed  in  the  old  world,  it  would  have  claimed 

the  title  instead  of  the  bird  which  has  now  the 
honour  to  bear  it : — see  it  darting  through  the  air 
almost  as  quick  as  thought ! — now  it  is  within  a 
yard  of  your  face ! — in  an  instant  gone ! — now  it 
flutters  from  flower  to  flower  to  sip  the  silver  dew — 
it  is  now  a  ruby — now  a  topaz — now  an  emerald — 
now  all  burnished  gold!  It  would  be  arrogant 
to  pretend  to  describe  this  winged  gem  of  nature 
after  Buffon's  elegant  description  of  it. 

Cayenne  and  Demerara  produce  the  same  hum-  Haunts  of 
ming-birds.  Perhaps  you  would  wish  to  know 
something  of  their  haunts.  Chiefly  in  the  months 
of  July  and  August,  the  tree  called  Bois  Immortel, 
very  common  in  Demerara,  bears  abundance  of 
red  blossom,  which  stays  on  the  tree  for  some 
weeks  ;  then  it  is  that  most  of  the  different  species 
of  humming-birds  are  very  plentiful.  The  wild 
red  sage  is  also  their  favourite  shrub,  and  they 
buzz  like  bees  round  the  blossom  of  the  wallaba 
tree.  Indeed,  there  is  scarce  a  flower  in  the 
interior,  or  on  the  sea-coast,  but  what  receives 
frequent  visits  from  one  or  other  of  the  species. 

On  entering  the  forests,  on  the  rising  land  in 
the  interior,  the  blue  and  green,  the  smallest 
brown,  no  bigger  than  the  humble  bee,  with  two 
long  feathers  in  the  tail,  and  the  little  forked-tail 
purple-throated  humming-birds,  glitter  before  you 
in  ever-changing  attitudes.  One  species  alone 


118  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND   never  shows  his  beauty  to  the  sun ;  and  were  it 

JOURNEY. 

not  for  his  lovely  shining  colours,  you  might  almost 

be  tempted  to  class  him  with  the  goat-suckers,  on 
account  of  his  habits.  He  is  the  largest  of  all  the 
humming-birds,  and  is  all  red  and  changing  gold 
green,  except  the  head,  which  is  black.  He  has 
two  long  feathers  in  the  tail,  which  cross  each 
other,  and  these  have  gained  him  the  name  of 
Karabimiti,  or  Ara  humming-bird,  from  the  In- 
dians. You  never  find  him  on  the  sea-coast,  or 
where  the  river  is  salt,  or  in  the  heart  of  the 
forest,  unless  fresh  water  be  there.  He  keeps 
close  by  the  side  of  woody  fresh-water  rivers,  and 
dark  and  lonely  creeks.  He  leaves  his  retreat 
before  sunrise  to  feed  on  the  insects  over  the 
water ;  he  returns  to  it  as  soon  as  the  sun's  rays 
cause  a  glare  of  light,  is  sedentary  all  day  long, 
and  comes  out  again  for  a  short  time  after  sunset. 
He  builds  his  nest  on  a  twig  over  the  water  in 
the  unfrequented  creeks ;  it  looks  like  tanned 
cow  leather. 

As  you  advance  towards  the  mountains  of 
Demerara,  other  species  of  humming-birds  present 
themselves  before  you.  It  seems  to  be  an  erro- 
neous opinion,  that  the  humming-bird  lives  entirely 
on  honey-dew.  Almost  every  flower  of  the  tropical 
climates  contains  insects  of  one  kind  or  other ; 
now,  the  humming-bird  is  most  busy  about  the 
flowers  an  hour  or  two  after  sunrise,  and  after  a 
shower  of  rain,  and  it  is  just  at  this  time  that  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  119 

insects  come  out  to  the  edge  of  the  flower  in  order    8EC°»*D 

JOURNEY. 

that  the  sun's  rays  may  dry  the  nocturnal  dew  and  ~ 
rain  which  they  have  received.     On  opening  the 
stomach  of  the  humming-bird,  dead  insects  are 
almost  always  found  there. 

Next  to  the  humming-birds,  the  cotingas  dis-  The  Co- 
play  the  gayest  plumage.  They  are  of  the  order '" 
of  passer,  and  you  number  five  species  betwixt  the 
sea-coast  and  the  rock  Saba.  Perhaps  the  scarlet 
cotinga  is  the  richest  of  the  five,  and  is  one  of 
those  birds  which  are  found  in  the  deepest 
recesses  of  the  forest.  His  crown  is  flaming  red ; 
to  this  abruptly  succeeds  a  dark  shining  brown, 
reaching  half  way  down  the  back  :  the  remainder 
of  the  back,  the  rump,  and  tail,  the  extremity  of 
which  is  edged  with  black,  are  a  lively  red ;  the 
belly  is  a  somewhat  lighter  red ;  the  breast  reddish 
black ;  the  wings  brown.  He  has  no  song,  is 
solitary,  and  utters  a  monotonous  whistle  which 
sounds  like  "quet."  He  is  fond  of  the  seeds  of 
the  hitia  tree,  and  those  of  the  siloabali  and 
bastard  siloabali  trees,  which  ripen  in  December, 
and  continue  on  the  trees  for  above  two  months. 
He  is  found  throughout  the  year  in  Demerara; 
still  nothing  is  known  of  his  incubation.  The 
Indians  all  agree  in  telling  you  that  they  have 
never  seen  his  nest. 

The  purple-breasted  cotinga  has  the  throat  and  The  purple- 
breast  of  a  deep  purple,  the  wings  and  tail  black,  and 
all  the  rest  of  the  body  a  most  lovely  shining  blue. 


120  WANDERINGS    IN 


SECOND        The  purple-throated  cotinga  has  black  wings 

JOURNEY. 

and  tail,  and  every  other  part  a  light  and  glossy 

blue,  save  the  throat,  which  is  purple. 
The  Pom-  The  Pompadour  cotinga  is  entirely  purple, 
tinga.  except  his  wings,  which  are  white,  their  four  first 
feathers  tipped  with  brown.  The  great  coverts  of 
the  wings  are  stiff,  narrow,  and  pointed,  being 
shaped  quite  different  from  those  of  any  other 
bird.  When  you  are  betwixt  this  bird  and  the 
sun,  in  his  flight,  he  appears  uncommonly  bril- 
liant. He  makes  a  hoarse  noise,  which  sounds 
like  "  Wallababa."  Hence  his  name  amongst  the 
Indians. 

None  of  these  three  cotingas  have  a  song. 
They  feed  on  the  hitia,  siloabali,  and  bastard 
siloabali  seeds,  the  wild  guava,  the  fig,  and  other 
fruit  trees  of  the  forest.  They  are  easily  shot 
in  these  trees  during  the  months  of  December, 
January,  and  part  of  February.  The  greater 
part  of  them  disappear  after  this,  and  probably 
retire  far  away  to  breed.  Their  nests  have  never 
been  found  in  Demerara. 

The  cam-  The  fifth  species  is  the  celebrated  Campanero  of 
the  Spaniards,  called  Dara  by  the  Indians,  and 
Bell-bird  by  the  English.  He  is  about  the  size  of 
the  jay.  His  plumage  is  white  as  snow.  On  his 
forehead  rises  a  spiral  tube  nearly  three  inches 
long.  It  is  jet  black,  dotted  all  over  with  small 
white  feathers.  It  has  a  communication  with  the 
palate,  and  when  filled  with  air,  looks  like  a  spire ; 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  121 


when   empty,  it  becomes  pendulous.      His  note 

r     J  JOURNEY. 

is  loud  and  clear,  like  the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  ~ 
may  be  heard  at  the  distance  of  three  miles.  In 
the  midst  of  these  extensive  wilds,  generally  on 
the  dried  top  of  an  aged  mora,  almost  out  of  gun 
reach,  you  will  see  the  campanero.  No  sound  or 
song  from  any  of  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the 
forest,  not  even  the  clearly  pronounced  "  Whip- 
poor-Will,"  from  the  goatsucker,  cause  such 
astonishment,  as  the  toll  of  the  campanero.. 

With  many  of  the  feathered  race,  he  pays  the 
common  tribute  of  a  morning  and  an  evening 
song  ;  and  even  when  the  meridian  sun  has  shut 
in  silence  the  mouths  of  almost  the  whole  of 
animated  nature,  the  campanero  still  cheers  the 
forest.  You  hear  his  toll,  and  then  a  pause  for 
a  minute,  then  another  toll,  and  then  a  pause 
again,  and  then  a  toll,  and  again  a  pause.  Then 
he  is  silent  for  six  or  eight  minutes,  and  then 
another  toll,  and  so  on.  Acteon  would  stop  in 
mid  chase,  Maria  would  defer  her  evening  song, 
and  Orpheus  himself  would  drop  his  lute  to  listen 
to  him;  so  sweet,  so  novel,  and  romantic  is  the 
toll  of  the  pretty  snow-white  campanero.  He 
is  never  seen  to  feed  with  the  other  cotingas, 
nor  is  it  known  in  what  part  of  Guiana  he  makes 
his  nest. 

While  the  cotingas  attract  your  attention  by  Thetou- 

/»  can. 

their    superior    plumage,    the    singular   form  of 
the  toucan  makes  a  lasting  impression  on  your 


122  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


memory.  There  are  three  species  of  toucans  in 
Demerara,  and  three  diminutives,  which  may  be 
called  toucanets.  The  largest  of  the  first  species 
frequents  the  mangrove  trees  on  the  sea-coast. 
He  is  never  seen  in  the  interior  till  you  reach 
Macoushia,  where  he  is  found  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  river  Tacatou.  The  other  two  species 
are  very  common.  They  feed  entirely  on  the 
fruits  of  the  forest,  and  though  of  the  pie  kind, 
never  kill  the  young  of  other  birds,  or  touch 
carrion.  The  larger  is  called  Bouradi  by  the 
Indians,  (which  means  nose,)  .the  other,  Scirou. 
They  seem  partial  to  each  other's  company,  and 
often  resort  to  the  same  feeding  tree,  and  retire 
together  to  the  same  shady  noon-day  retreat. 
They  are  very  noisy  in  rainy  weather  at  all  hours 
of  the  day,  and  in  fair  weather,  at  morn  and  eve. 
The  sound  which  the  bouradi  makes,  is  like  the 
clear  yelping  of  a  puppy  dog,  and  you  fancy  he 
says  "  pia-po-o-co,"  and  thus  the  South  American 
Spaniards  call  him  Piapoco. 

All  the  toucanets  feed  on  the  same  trees  on 
which  the  toucan  feeds,  and  every  species  of  this 
family  of  enormous  bill,  lays  its  eggs  in  the  hollow 
trees.  They  are  social,  but  not  gregarious.  You 
may  sometimes  see  eight  or  ten  in  company,  and 
from  this  you  would  suppose  they  are  gregarious ; 
but,  upon  a  closer  examination,  you  will  find  it 
has  only  been  a  dinner  party,  which  breaks  up  and 
disperses  towards  roosting  time. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  123 

You  will  be  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  for  what  ends    8ECON» 

J  JOURNEY. 

nature  has  overloaded  the  head  of  this  bird  with 


such  an  enormous  bill.  It  cannot  be  for  the 
offensive,  as  it  has  no  need  to  wage  war  with  any 
of  the  tribes  of  animated  nature ;  for  its  food  is 
fruits  and  seeds,  and  those  are  in  superabundance 
throughout  the  whole  year  in  the  regions  where 
the  toucan  is  found.  It  can  hardly  be  for  the 
defensive,  as  the  toucan  is  preyed  upon  by  no  bird 
in  South  America,  and  were  it  obliged  to  be  at 
war,  the  texture  of  the  bill  is  ill  adapted  to  give 
or  receive  blows,  as  you  will  see  in  dissecting  it. 
It  cannot  be  for  any  particular  protection  to  the 
tongue,  as  the  tongue  is  a  perfect  feather. 

The  flight  of  the  toucan  is  by  jerks;  in  the  its  flight, 
action  of  flying  it  seems  incommoded  by  this  huge 
disproportioned  feature,  and  the  head  seems  as  if 
bowed  down  to  the  earth  by  it  against  its  will ;  if , 
the  extraordinary  form  and  size  of  the  bill  expose 
the  toucan  to  ridicule,  its  colours  make  it  amends. 
Were  a  specimen  of  each  species  of  the  toucan  colours  of 

11  1  1    Ml          /•  *e  bil>> 

presented  to  you,  you  would  pronounce  the  bill  of 
the  bouradi  the  most  rich  and  beautiful ;  on  the 
ridge  of  the  upper  mandible  a  broad  stripe  of  most 
lovely  yellow  extends  from  the  head  to  the  point; 
a  stripe  of  the  same  breadth,  though  somewhat 
deeper  yellow,  falls  from  it  at  right  angles  next 
the  head  down  to  the  edge  of  the  mandible  ;  then 
follows  a  black  stripe,  half  as  broad,  falling  at 
right  angles  from  the  ridge,  and  running  narrower 


124  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    along  the  edge  to  within  half  an  inch   of  the 

JOURNEY. 

— point.     The  rest  of  the  mandible  is  a  deep  bright 

red.  The  lower  mandible  has  no  yellow :  its 
black  and  red  are  distributed  in  the  same  manner 
as  on  the  upper  one,  with  this  difference,  that 
there  is  black  about  an  inch  from  the  point.  The 
stripe  corresponding  to  the  deep  yellow  stripe  on 
the  upper  mandible  is  sky  blue.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  all  these  brilliant  colours  of  the  bill 
are  to  be  found  in  the  plumage  of  the  body,  and 
the  bare  skin  round  the  eye. 

All  these  colours,  except  the  blue,  are  inherent 
in  the  horn ;  that  part  which  appears  blue  is  in 
reality  transparent  white,  and  receives  its  colour 
from  a  thin  piece  of  blue  skin  inside.  This 
superb  bill  fades  in  death,  and  in  three  or  four 
days'  time,  has  quite  lost  its  original  colours. 

Till  within  these  few  years,  no  idea  of  the  true 
colours  of  the  bill  could  be  formed  from  the  stuffed 
toucans  brought  to  Europe.  About  eight  years 
ago,  while  eating  a  boiled  toucan,  the  thought 
struck  me  that  the  colours  in  the  bill  of  a  pre- 
served specimen  might  be  kept  as  bright  as  those 
Preserves  a  in  life.  A  series  of  experiments  proved  this  be- 
Toucan.  yond  a  doubt.  If  you  take  your  penknife  and 
cut  away  the  roof  of  the  upper  mandible,  you  will 
find  that  the  space  betwixt  it  and  the  outer  shell 
contains  a  large  collection  of  veins,  and  small 
osseous  fibres  running  in  all  directions  through 
the  whole  extent  of  the  bill.  Clear  away  all 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  125 

these  with  your  knife,  and  you  will  come  to  a 
substance  more  firm  than  skin,  but  of  not  so 
strong  a  texture  as  the  horn  itself;  cut  this  away 
also,  and  behind  it  is  discovered  a  thin  and  tender 
membrane ;  yellow,  where  it  has  touched  the 
yellow  part  of  the  horn  ;  blue,  where  it  has 
touched  the  red  part,  and  black  towards  the  edge 
and  point ;  when  dried,  this  thin  and  tender  mem- 
brane becomes  nearly  black ;  as  soon  as  it  is  cut 
away,  nothing  remains  but  the  outer  horn,  red 
and  yellow,  and  now  become  transparent;  the 
under  mandible  must  undergo  the  same  operation. 
Great  care  must  be  taken,  and  the  knife  used  very 
cautiously,  when  you  are  cutting  through  the  dif- 
ferent parts  close  to  where  the  bill  joins  on  to  the 
head;  if  you  cut  away  too  much,  the  bill  drops 
off ;  if  you  press  too  hard,  the  knife  comes  through 
the  horn ;  if  you  leave  too  great  a  portion  of  the 
membrane,  it  appears  through  the  horn,  and  by 
becoming  black  when  dried,  makes  the  horn  ap- 
pear black  also,  and  has  a  bad  effect;  judgment, 
caution,  skill,  and  practice,  will  ensure  success. 

You  have  now  cleared  the  bill  of  all  those 
bodies  which  are  the  cause  of  its  apparent  fading ; 
for,  as  has  been  said  before,  these  bodies  dry  in 
death,  and  become  quite  discoloured,  and  appear 
so  through  the  horn;  and  reviewing  the  bill  in 
this  state,  you  conclude  that  its  former  bright 
colours  are  lost. 

Something  still  remains  to  be  done.     You  have 


JOURNEY. 


WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND  rendered  the  bill  transparent  by  the  operation, 
and  that  transparency  must  be  done  away  to 
make  it  appear  perfectly  natural.  Pound  some 
clean  chalk,  and  give  it  enough  water  till  it  be  of 
the  consistency  of  tar;  add  a  proportion  of  gum 
arabic  to  make  it  adhesive;  then  take  a  camel- 
hair  brush,  and  give  the  inside  of  both  mandibles 
a  coat ;  apply  a  second  when  the  first  is  dry,  then 
another,  and  a  fourth  to  finish  all.  The  gum 
arabic  will  prevent  the  chalk  from  cracking  and 
falling  off.  If  you  remember,  there  is  a  little 
space  of  transparent  white  in  the  lower  mandible, 
which  originally  appeared  blue,  but  which  became 
transparent  white  as  soon  as  the  thin  piece  of  blue 
skin  was  cut  away ;  this  must  be  painted  blue  in- 
side. When  all  this  is  completed,  the  bill  will 
please  you ;  it  will  appear  in  its  original  colours. 
Probably  your  own  abilities  will  suggest  a  cleverer 
mode  of  operating  than  the  one  here  described. 
A  small  gouge  would  assist  the  penknife,  and 
render  the  operation  less  difficult. 

The  HOU-  The  Houtou  ranks  high  in  beauty  amongst 
the  birds  of  Demerara  ;  his  whole  body  is 
green,  with  a  bluish  cast  in  the  wings  and  tail ; 
his  crown,  which  he  erects  at  pleasure,  consists 
of  black  in  the  centre,  surrounded  with  lovely 
blue  of  two  different  shades :  he  has  a  triangular 
black  spot,  edged  with  blue,  behind  the  eye  ex- 
tending to  the  ear;  and  on  his  breast  a  sable 
tuft,  consisting  of  nine  feathers  edged  also  with 


tou. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  127 

blue.       This    bird    seems    to    suppose   that    its    8ECOND 

JOURNEY. 

beauty  can  be   increased    by   trimming  the  tail,   

which  undergoes  the  same  operation  as  our  hair 
in  a  barber's  shop,  only  with  this  difference, 
that  it  uses  its  own  beak,  which  is  serrated,  in 
lieu  of  a  pair  of  scissars :  as  soon  as  his  tail  is  full 
grown,  he  begins  about  an  inch  from  the  extremity 
of  the  two  longest  feathers  in  it,  and  cuts  away 
the  web  on  both  sides  of  the  shaft,  making  a 
gap  about  an  inch  long :  both  male  and  female 
Adonise  their  tails  in  this  manner,  which  gives 
them  a  remarkable  appearance  amongst  all  other 
birds.  While  we  consider  the  tail  of  the  houtou 
blemished  and  defective,  were  he  to  come  amongst 
us,  he  would  probably  consider  our  heads,  cropped 
and  bald,  in  no  better  light.  He  who  wishes  its  haunt*, 
to  observe  this  handsome  bird  in  his  native  haunts, 
must  be  in  the  forest  at  the  morning's  dawn. 
The  houtou  shuns  the  society  of  man  :  the  planta- 
tions and  cultivated  parts  are  too  much  disturbed 
to  engage  it  to  settle  there ;  the  thick  and  gloomy 
forests  are  the  places  preferred  by  the  solitary 
houtou.  In  those  far-extending  wilds,  about  day- 
break, you  hear  him  articulate,  in  a  distinct  and 
mournful  tone,  "  houtou,  houtou."  Move  cautious 
on  to  where  the  sound  proceeds  from,  and  you 
will  see  him  sitting  in  the  underwood,  about  a 
couple  of  yards  from  the  ground,  his  tail  moving 
up  and  down  every  time  he  articulates  "  houtou." 
He  lives  on  insects  and  the  berries  amongst  the 


128  WANDERINGS  IN 

SECOND    underwood,  and  very  rarely  is  seen  in  the  lofty 

JOURNEY.  / 

trees,  except  the  bastard  siloabah-tree,  the  fruit 
of  which  is  grateful  to  him.  He  makes  no  nest, 
but  rears  his  young  in  a  hole  in  the  sand,  generally 
on  the  side  of  a  hill. 

While  in  quest  of  the  houtou,  you  will  now  and 

The  Jay  of  then  fall  in  with  the  jay  of  Guiana,  called  by  the 
Indians  Ibibirou.  Its  forehead  is  black,  the  rest 
of  the  head  white  ;  the  throat  and  breast  like  the 
English  magpie  :  about  an  inch  of  the  extremity 
of  the  tail  is  white,  the  other  part  of  it,  together 
with  the  back  and  wings,  a  grayish  changing 
purple  ;  the  belly  is  white :  there  are  generally 
six  or  eight  of  them  in  company  ;  they  are  shy  and 
garrulous,  and  tarry  a  very  short  time  in  one 
place :  they  are  never  seen  in  the  cultivated 
parts. 

Through  the  whole  extent  of  the  forest,  chiefly 
from  sunrise  till  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  you 
hear  a  sound  of  "  wow,  wow,  wow,  wow."  This 

The  BOC-  is  the  bird  called  Boclora  by  the  Indians.     It  is 

lora.  . 

smaller  than  the  common  pigeon,  and  seems,  in 
some  measure,  to  partake  of  its  nature  ;  its  head 
and  breast  are  blue  ;  the  back  and  rump  some- 
what resemble  the  colour  on  the  peacock's  neck ; 
its  belly  is  a  bright  yellow  ;  the  legs  are  so  very 
short  that  it  always  appears  as  if  sitting  on  the 
branch ;  it  is  as  ill  adapted  for  walking  as  the 
swallow ;  its  neck,  for  above  an  inch  all  round, 
is  quite  bare  of  feathers ;  but  this  deficiency  is 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  129 

not  seen,  for  it  always  sits  with  its  head  drawn    8EtON» 

JOURNEY. 

in  upon  its  shoulders  :  it  sometimes  feeds  with  the  — 
cotingas  on  the  guava  and  hitia  trees ;  but  its 
chief  nutriment  seems  to  be  insects,  and,  like  most 
birds  which  follow  this  prey,  its  chaps  are  well 
armed  with  bristles :  it  is  found  in  Demerara  at 
all  times  of  the  year,  and  makes  a  nest  resembling 
that  of  the  stock  dove.  This  bird  never  takes 
long  flights,  and  when  it  crosses  a  river  or  creek 
it  goes  by  long  jerks. 

The  boclora  is  very  unsuspicious,  appearing 
quite  heedless  of  danger :  the  report  of  a  gun 
within  twenty  yards  will  not  cause  it  to  leave 
the  branch  on  which  it  is  sitting,  and  you  may 
often  approach  it  so  near  as  almost  to  touch  it 
with  the  end  of  your  bow.  Perhaps  there  is 
no  bird  known  whose  feathers  are  so  slightly  fixed 
to  the  skin  as  those  of  the  boclora.  After  shoot- 
ing it,  if  it  touch  a  branch  in  its  descent,  or  if 
it  drop  on  hard  ground,  whole  heaps  of  feathers 
fall  off:  on  this  account  it  is  extremely  hard  to 
procure  a  specimen  for  preservation.  As  soon 
as  the  skin  is  dry  in  the  preserved  specimen, 
the  feathers  become  as  well  fixed  as  those  in 
any  other  bird. 

Another   species,  larger  than  the  boclora,  at-  The  c«ua. 
tracts  much  of  your  notice  in  these  wilds;  it  is 
called  Cuia  by  the  Indians,   from  the  sound  of 
its   voice;    its  habits  are  the   same   as   those  of 
the  boclora,  but  its  colours  different;   its  head, 

K 


130  WANDERINGS    IN 


SECOND    breast,  back,  and  rump  are  a  shining,  changing 

JOURNEY.  r  . 

•  green ;    its   tail  not    quite    so   bright ;    a  black 

bar  runs  across  the  tail  towards  the  extremity, 
and  the  outside  feathers  are  partly  white  as  in 
the  boclora ;  its  belly  is  entirely  vermilion,  a  bar 
of  white  separating  it  from  the  green  on  the 
breast. 

There  are  diminutives  of  both  these  birds ; 
they  have  the  same  habits,  with  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent plumage,  and  about  half  the  size.  Arrayed 
from  head  to  tail  in  a  robe  of  richest  sable  hue, 

The  Rice-  the  bird  called  Rice-bird  loves  spots  cultivated 
by  the  hand  of  man.  The  woodcutter's  house 
on  the  hills  in  the  interior,  and  the  planter's 
habitation  on  the  sea-coast,  equally  attract  this 
songless  species  of  the  order  of  pie,  provided 
the  Indian  corn  be  ripe  there.  He  is  nearly  of 
the  jackdaw's  size,  and  makes  his  nest  far  away 
from  the  haunts  of  men ;  he  may  truly  be  called 
a  blackbird :  independent  of  his  plumage,  his  beak, 
inside  and  out,  his  legs,  his  toes,  and  claws  are 
jet  black. 

Mankind,  by  clearing  the  ground,  and  sowing 
a  variety  of  seeds,  induces  many  kinds  of  birds 
to  leave  their  native  haunts,  and  come  and  settle 
near  him :  their  little  depredations  on  his  seeds 
and  fruits  prove  that  it  is  the  property,  and  not 
the  proprietor,  which  has  the  attractions. 

The  cas-  One  bird,  however,  in  Demerara  is  not  actuated 
by  selfish  motives :  this  is  the  Cassique ;  in  size, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  131 

he  is  larger  than   the  starling ;    he   courts   the    8ECOND 

JOURNEY. 

society  of  man,  but  disdains  to  live  by  his  labours.  - 
When  nature  calls  for  support,  he  repairs  to  the 
neighbouring  forest,  and  there  partakes  of  the 
store  of  fruits  and  seeds,  which  she  has  produced 
in  abundance  for  her  aerial  tribes.  When  his 
repast  is  over,  he  returns  to  man,  and  pays  the 
little  tribute  which  he  owes  him  for  his  protection ; 
he  takes  his  station  on  a  tree  close  to  his  house ; 
and  there,  for  hours  together,  pours  forth  a  suc- 
cession of  imitative  notes.  His  own  song  is  sweet, 
but  very  short.  If  a  toucan  be  yelping  in  the 
neighbourhood,  he  drops  it,  and  imitates  him. 
Then  he  will  amuse  his  protector  with  the  cries 
of  the  different  species  of  the  woodpecker ;  and 
when  the  sheep  bleat,  he  will  distinctly  answer 
them.  Then  comes  his  own  song  again ;  and 
if  a  puppy  dog,  or  a  Guinea  fowl  interrupt  him, 
he  takes  them  off  admirably,  and  by  his  different 
gestures  during  the  time,  you  would  conclude  that 
he  enjoys  the  sport. 

The  cassique  is  gregarious,  and  imitates  any 
sound  he  hears  with  such  exactness,  that  he  goes 
by  no  other  name  than  that  of  mocking  bird 
amongst  the  colonists. 

At  breeding  time,  a  number  of  these  pretty 
choristers  resort  to  a  tree  near  the  planter's 
house,  and  from  its  outside  branches  weave  their 
pendulous  nests.  So  conscious  do  they  seem  that 
they  never  give  offence,  and  so  little  suspicious 

K2 


132  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    are  they  of  receiving  any  injury  from  man,  that 

JOURNEY.  .  -  ,, 

~  they  will  choose  a  tree  within  forty  yards  from 
his  house,  and  occupy  the  branches  so  low  down, 
that  he  may  peep  into  the  nests.  A  tree  in 
Waratilla  creek  affords  a  proof  of  this. 

The  proportions  of  the  cassique  are  so  fine,  that 
he  may  be  said  to  be  a  model  of  symmetry  in 
ornithology.      On   each   wing   he  has    a   bright 
yellow  spot,  and  his  rump,  belly,  and  half  the 
tail,  are    of  the   same  colour.      All  the  rest  of 
the  body  is   black.     His  beak  is   the    colour   of 
sulphur,  but  it  fades  in  death,  and  requires  the 
same  operation  as  the  bill  of  the  toucan  to  make  it 
keep  its  colours.     Up  the  rivers,  in  the  interior, 
there  is  another  cassique,  nearly  the  same  size,  and 
of  the  same  habits,  though   not  gifted  with  its 
powers  of  imitation.      Except  in  breeding  time, 
you  will  see  hundreds  of  them  retiring  to  roost, 
amongst  the  moca-moca-trees  and  low  shrubs  on 
the  banks  of  the  Demerara,  after  you  pass   the 
first  island.     They  are  not  common  on  the  sea- 
coast.     The  rump  of  this  cassique  is  a  flaming 
scarlet.     All  the  rest  of  the  body  is  a  rich  glossy 
black.     His  bill  is  sulphur  colour.    You  may  often 
see  numbers   of  this   species  weaving  their  pen- 
dulous nests  on  one  side  of  a  tree,  while  numbers 
of  the  other  species  are  busy  in  forming  theirs 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  tree.     Though 
such    near    neighbours,    the   females    are   never 
observed  to  kick  up  a  row,  or  come  to  blows ! 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  133 


Another  species  of  cassia  ue,  as  large  as  a  crow,    •»»»»> 

JOURNEY. 

is  very  common  in  the  plantations.     In  the  morn- 

ing,  he  generally  repairs  to  a  large  tree,  and  there,  Another 

...  °  species  of 

with  his  tail  spread  over  his  back,  and  shaking  his the  Cas- 

i  i         •  T  sique. 

lowered  wings,  he  produces  notes,  which  though 
they  cannot  be  said  to  amount  to  a  song,  still  have 
something  very  sweet  and  pleasing  in  them.  He 
makes  his  nest  in  the  same  form  as  the  other 
cassiques.  It  is  above  four  feet  long ;  and  when 
you  pass  under  the  tree,  which  often  contains 
fifty  or  sixty  of  them,  you  cannot  help  stopping  to 
admire  them  as  they  wave  to  and  fro,  the  sport  of 
every  storm  and  breeze.  The  rump  is  chestnut ; 
ten  feathers  of  the  tail  are  a  fine  yellow,  the 
remaining  two,  which  are  the  middle  ones,  are 
black,  and  an  inch  shorter  than  the  others.  His 
bill  is  sulphur  colour ;  all  the  rest  of  the  body 
black,  with  here  and  there  shades  of  brown.  He 
has  five  or  six  long  narrow  black  feathers  on  the 
back  of  his  head,  which  he  erects  at  pleasure. 

There  is  one  more  species  of  cassique  in  Deme- 
rara,  which  always  prefers  the  forests  to  the 
cultivated  parts.  His  economy  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  other  cassiques.  He  is  rather  smaller  than 
the  last  described  bird.  His  body  is  greenish, 
and  his  tail  and  rump  paler  than  those  of  the 
former.  Half  of  his  beak  is  red. 

You  would  not  be  long  in  the  forests  of  Deme-  wood- 

•    •  11  IT-        peckers. 

rara,  without  noticing  the  woodpeckers.  You 
meet  with  them  feeding  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 


134-  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND    \Vell  may  they  do  so.     Were  they  to  follow  the 

JOURNEY.  . 

example  of  most  of  the  other  birds,  and  only  feed 

in  the  morning  and  evening,  they  would  be  often 
on  short  allowance,  for  they  sometimes  have  to 
labour  three  or  four  hours  at  the  tree  before  they 
get  to  their  food.  The  sound  which  the  largest 
kind  makes  in  hammering  against  the  bark  of  the 
tree,  is  so  loud,  that  you  would  never  suppose 
it  to  proceed  from  the  efforts  of  a  bird.  You 
would  take  it  to  be  the  woodman,  with  his 
axe,  trying  by  a  sturdy  blow,  often  repeated, 
whether  the  tree  were  sound  or  not.  There 
are  fourteen  species  here ;  the  largest  the  size 
of  a  magpie,  the  smallest  no  bigger  than  the 
wren.  They  are  all  beautiful ;  and  the  greater 
part  of  them  have  their  heads  ornamented  with  a 
fine  crest,  movable  at  pleasure. 

It  is  said,  if  you  once  give  a  dog  a  bad  name, 
whether  innocent  or  guilty,  he  never  loses  it.  It 
sticks  close  to  him  wherever  he  goes.  He  has 
many  a  kick,  and  many  a  blow  to  bear  on  ac- 
count of  it ;  and  there  is  nobody  to  stand  up  for 
him.  The  woodpecker  is  little  better  off.  The 
proprietors  of  woods,  in  Europe,  have  long  ac- 
cused him  of  injuring  their  timber,  by  boring  holes 
in  it,  and  letting  in  the  water,  which  soon  rots  it. 
The  colonists  in  America  have  the  same  complaint 
against  him.  Had  he  the  power  of  speech,  which 
Ovid's  birds  possessed  in  days  of  yore,  he  could 
soon  make  a  defence.  "  Mighty  lord  of  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  135 

woods,"  he  would  say  to  man,  "  why  do  you 
wrongfully  accuse  me  ?  Why  do  you  hunt  me  up 
and  down  to  death  for  an  imaginary  offence  ?  I 
have  never  spoiled  a  leaf  of  your  property,  much 
less  your  wood.  Your  merciless  shot  strikes  me, 
at  the  very  time  I  am  doing  you  a  service.  But 
your  shortsightedness  will  not  let  you  see  it,  or 
your  pride  is  above  examining  closely  the  actions 
of  so  insignificant  a  little  bird  as  I  am.  If  there 
be  that  spark  of  feeling  in  your  breast,  which  they 
say  man  possesses,  or  ought  to  possess,  above  all 
other  animals,  do  a  poor  injured  creature  a  little 
kindness,  and  watch  me  in  your  woods  only  for  one 
day.  I  never  wound  your  healthy  trees.  I  should 
perish  for  want  in  the  attempt.  The  sound  bark 
would  easily  resist  the  force  of  my  bill ;  and  were  I 
even  to  pierce  through  it,  there  would  be  nothing 
inside  that  I  could  fancy,  or  my  stomach  digest. 
I  often  visit  them  it  is  true,  but  a  knock  or  two 
convince  me  that  I  must  go  elsewhere  for  sup- 
port; and  were  you  to  listen  attentively  to  the 
sound  which  my  bill  causes,  you  would  know 
whether  I  am  upon  a  healthy,  or  an  unhealthy 
tree.  Wood  and  bark  are  not  my  food.  I  live 
entirely  upon  the  insects  which  have  already 
formed  a  lodgement  in  the  distempered  tree. 
When  the  sound  informs  me  that  my  prey  is  there, 
I  labour  for  hours  together  till  I  get  at  it ;  and 
by  consuming  it,  for  my  own  support,  I  prevent 
its  further  depredations  in  that  part.  Thus  I 


136  WANDERINGS   IN 

SECOND    discover   for  you  your  hidden  and   unsuspected 

JOURNEY.  *  J 

foe,  which  has  been  devouring  your  wood  in  such 

secrecy,  that  you  had  not  the  least  suspicion  it 
was  there.  The  hole  which  I  make  in  order  to 
get  at  the  pernicious  vermin,  will  be  seen  by  you 
as  you  pass  under  the  tree.  I  leave  it  as  a  signal 
to  tell  you,  that  your  tree  has  already  stood  too 
long.  It  is  past  its  prime.  Millions  of  insects, 
engendered  by  disease,  are  preying  upon  its  vitals. 
Ere  long  it  will  fall  a  log  in  useless  ruins.  Warned 
by  this  loss,  cut  down  the  rest  in  time,  and  spare, 
O  spare  the  unoffending  woodpecker." 

The  King-       In  the  rivers,  and  different  creeks,  you  number 

fisher.  .  ••• 

six  species  of  the  King-fisher.  They  make  their 
nest  in  a  hole  in  the  sand  on  the  side  of  the  bank. 
As  there  is  always  plenty  of  foliage  to  protect 
them  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  they  feed  at  all 
hours  of  the  day.  Though  their  plumage  is  pret- 
tily varied,  still  it  falls  far  short  of  the  brilliancy 
displayed  by  the  English  king-fisher.  This  little 
native  of  Britain  would  outweigh  them  altogether 
in  the  scale  of  beauty. 

The  Jaca-  A  bird  called  Jacamar  is  often  taken  for  a  king- 
fisher, but  it  has  no  relationship  to  that  tribe ;  it 
frequently  sits  in  the  trees  over  the  water,  and  as 
its  beak  bears  some  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
king-fisher,  this  may  probably  account  for  its  being 
taken  for  one  ;  it  feeds  entirely  upon  insects ;  it 
sits  on  a  branch  in  motionless  expectation,  and  as 
soon  as  a  fly,  butterfly,  or  moth  pass  by,  it  darts 


mar. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  137 

at  it,  and  returns  to  the  branch  it  had  iust  left.    SECOND 

JOURNEY. 

It  seems  an  indolent,  sedentary  bird,  shunning  the  — 
society  of  all  others  in  the  forest.  It  never  visits 
the  plantations,  but  is  found  at  all  times  of  the 
year  in  the  woods.  There  are  four  species  of 
jacamar  in  Demerara ;  they  are  all  beautiful ;  the 
largest,  rich  and  superb  in  the  extreme.  Its 
plumage  is  of  so  fine  a  changing  blue  and  golden 
green,  that  it  may  be  ranked  with  the  choicest  of 
the  humming-birds.  Nature  has  denied  it  a  song, 
but  given  a  costly  garment  in  lieu  of  it.  The 
smallest  species  of  jacamar  is  very  common  in  the 
dry  savannas.  The  second  size,  all  golden  green 
on  the  back,  must  be  looked  for  in  the  wallaba 
forest.  The  third  is  found  throughout  the  whole 
extent  of  these  wilds :  and  the  fourth,  which  is 
the  largest,  frequents  the  interior,  where  you 
begin  to  perceive  stones  in  the  ground. 

When  you  have  penetrated  far  into  Macoushia,  The  Trou- 
you  hear  the  pretty  songster,  called  Troupiale, 
pour  forth  a  variety  of  sweet  and  plaintive  notes. 
This  is  the  bird  which  the  Portuguese  call  the 
nightingale  of  Guiana;  its  predominant  colours 
are  rich  orange,  and  shining  black,  arrayed  to 
great  advantage :  his  delicate  and  well-shaped 
frame  seems  unable  to  bear  captivity.  The 
Indians  sometimes  bring  down  troupiales  to  Sta- 
broek,  but  in  a  few  months  they  languish  and  die 
in  a  cage.  They  soon  become  very  familiar ;  and 
if  you  allow  them  the  liberty  of  the  house,  they 


138  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND   ijve  lonerer  than  in  a  cage,  and  appear  in  better 

JOURNEY.  * 

; —  spirits ;    but,  when  you  least  expect  it,  they  drop 

down  and  die  in  epilepsy, 
second  Smaller  in  size,  and  of  colour  not  so  rich,  and 

species  of  IT«»I  i  t  t> 

Troupiaie.  somewhat  differently  arranged,  another  species  of 
troupiale  sings  melodiously  in  Demerara.  The 
woodcutter  is  particularly  favoured  by  him ;  for 
while  the  hen  is  sitting  on  her  nest,  built  in  the 
roof  of  the  woodcutter's  house,  he  sings  for  hours 
together  close  by :  he  prefers  the  forests  to  the 
cultivated  parts. 

Third  spe-      You  would  not  grudge  to  stop  for  a  few  minutes. 

ciesofTrou-  . 

piaie.  as  you  are  walking  in  the  plantations,  to  observe 
a  third  species  of  troupiale :  his  wings,  tail,  and 
throat  are  black,  all  the  rest  of  the  body  is  a 
bright  yellow.  There  is  something  very  sweet 
and  plaintive  in  his  song,  though  much  shorter 
than  that  of  the  troupiale  in  the  interior. 

Fourth          A  fourth  species  goes  in  flocks  from  place  to 

species  of  .  .  «      •     •»« 

place  in  the  cultivated  parts  at  the  time  the  Indian 
corn  is  ripe ;  he  is  all  black,  except  the  head  and 
throat,  which  are  yellow ;  his  attempt  at  song  is 
not  worth  attending  to. 

Wherever  there  is  a  wild  fig-tree  ripe,  a  nume- 
rous species  of  birds,  called  Tangara,  is  sure  to  be 
on  it.  There  are  eighteen  beautiful  species  here. 
Their  plumage  is  very  rich  and  diversified ;  some 
of  them  boast  six  separate  colours ;  others  have 
the  blue,  purple,  green,  and  black  so  kindly  blended 
into  each  other,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  139 

mark  their  boundaries  ;  while  others  again  exhibit   SECONI> 

JOURNEY. 

them  strong,  distinct,  and  abrupt  :  many  of  these  - 
tangaras  have  a  fine  song.  They  seem  to  partake 
much  of  the  nature  of  our  linnets,  sparrows,  and 
finches.  Some  of  them  are  fond  of  the  plantations  ; 
others  are  never  seen  there,  preferring  the  wild 
seeds  of  the  forest  to  the  choicest  fruits  planted  by 
the  hand  of  man. 

On  the  same  fig-trees  to  which  they  repair,  and  Manikin 
often  accidentally  up  and  down  the  forest,  you 
fall  in  with  four  species  of  Manikin.  The  largest 
is  white  and  black,  with  the  feathers  on  the  throat 
remarkably  long  :  the  next  in  size  is  half  red  and 
half  black  :  the  third,  black,  with  a  white  crown  : 
the  fourth,  black,  with  a  golden  crown,  and  red 
feathers  at  the  knee.  The  half  red  and  half  black 
species  is  the  scarcest.  There  is  a  creek  in  the 
Demerara  called  Camouni.  About  ten  minutes 
from  the  mouth,  you  see  a  common-sized  fig-tree 
on  your  right  hand,  as  you  ascend,  hanging  over 
water;  it  bears  a  very  small  fig  twice  a  year. 
When  its  fruit  is  ripe,  this  manikin  is  on  the  tree 
from  morn  till  eve. 


On  all  the  ripe  fig-trees  in  the  forest  you  see  The 
the  bird  called  the  small  Tiger-bird.  Like  some 
of  our  belles  and  dandies,  it  has  a  gaudy  vest  to 
veil  an  ill-shaped  body  :  the  throat,  and  part  of 
the  head,  are  a  bright  red  ;  the  breast  and  belly 
have  black  spots  on  a  yellow  ground  ;  the  wings 
are  a  dark  green,  black,  and  white  ;  and  the  rump 


140  WANDERINGS   IN 


SECOND    an(j  ta{\  black  and  green.     Like  the  manikin,  it 

JOURNEY. 

—  has  no  song  :  it  depends  solely  upon  a  showy  gar- 

ment for  admiration. 
TheYawa-      Devoid,  too,  of  sous;,  and  in  a  still  superber 

raciri. 

garb,  the  Yawaraciri  comes  to  feed  on  the  same 
tree.  It  has  a  bar  like  black  velvet  from  the 
eyes  to  the  beak  ;  its  legs  are  yellow  ;  its  throat, 
wings,  and  tail  black  ;  all  the  rest  of  the  body  a 
charming  blue.  Chiefly  in  the  dry  savannas,  and 
here  and  there  accidentally  in  the  forest,  you  see  a 
songless  yawaraciri  still  lovelier  than  the  last  :  his 
crown  is  whitish  blue,  arrayed  like  a  coat  of  mail  ; 
his  tail  is  black,  his  wings  black  and  yellow  ;  legs 
red;  and  the  whole  body  a  glossy  blue.  Whilst 
roving  through  the  forest,  ever  and  anon  you  see 
individuals  of  the  wren  species,  busy  amongst  the 
fallen  leaves,  or  seeking  insects  at  the  roots  of  the 
trees. 

Here,  too,  you  find  six  or  seven  species  of  small 
birds,  whose  backs  appear  to  be  overloaded  with 
silky  plumage.  One  of  these,  with  a  chestnut 
breast,  smoke-coloured  back,  tail  red,  white  fea- 
thers like  horns  on  his  head,  and  white  narrow- 
pointed  feathers  under  the  jaw,  feeds  entirely 
upon  ants.  When  a  nest  of  large,  light,  brown 
ants  emigrates,  one  following  the  other  in  mean- 
dering lines  above  a  mile  long,  you  see  this  bird 
watching  them,  and  every  now  and  then  picking 
them  up.  When  they  disappear,  he  is  seen  no 
more  :  perhaps  this  is  the  only  kind  of  ant  he  is 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  141 

fond   of:    when  these  ants  are  stirring,  you  are   SECOND 

JOURNEY 

sure  to  find  him  near  them.     You  cannot  well 
mistake  the  ant  after  you  have  once  been  in  its  Ants, 
company,  for  its  sting  is  very  severe,  and  you  can 
hardly  shoot  the  bird,  and  pick  it  up,  without 
having  five  or  six  upon  you. 

Parrots  and  paroquets  are  very  numerous  here,  Parrots  and 

Paroquets. 

and  of  many  different  kinds.  You  will  know 
when  they  are  near  you  in  the  forest,  not  only  by 
the  noise  they  make,  but  also  by  the  fruits  and 
seeds  which  they  let  fall  while  they  are  feeding. 

The  Hia-hia  parrot,  called  in  England  the  par-  The  Hia- 
rot  of  the  sun,  is  very  remarkable :  he  can  erect 
at  pleasure  a  fine  radiated  circle  of  tartan  feathers 
quite  round  the  back  of  his  head  from  jaw  to  jaw. 
The  fore  part  of  his  head  is  white ;  his  back, 
tail,  and  wings,  green ;  and  his  breast  and  belly 
tartan. 

Superior  in  size  and  beauty  to  every  parrot  of The  Ara- 
South  America,  the  Ara  will  force  you  to  take 
your  eyes  from  the  rest  of  animated  nature,  and 
gaze  at  him :  his  commanding  strength,  the  flaming 
scarlet  of  his  body,  the  lovely  variety  of  red,  yel- 
low, blue,  and  green  in  his  wings,  the  extraor- 
dinary length  of  his  scarlet  and  blue  tail,  seem 
all  to  join  and  demand  for  him  the  title  of  emperor 
of  all  the  parrots.  He  is  scarce  in  Demerara  till 
you  reach  the  confines  of  the  Macoushi  country ; 
there  he  is  in  vast  abundance  ;  he  mostly  feeds  on 
trees  of  the  palm  species.  When  the  coucourite 


142  WANDERINGS   IN- 

SECOND    trees  have  ripe  fruit  on  them,  they  are  covered 

JOURNEY.  A 

with  this  magnificent  parrot:   he  is  not  shy  or 

wary;  you  may  take  your  blow-pipe  and  quiver 
of  poisoned  arrows,  and  kill  more  than  you  are 
able  to  carry  back  to  your  hut.  They  are  very 
vociferous,  and  like  the  common  parrots,  rise  up 
in  bodies  towards  sunset,  and  fly  two  and  two  to 
their  place  of  rest.  It  is  a  grand  sight  in  orni- 
thology to  see  thousands  of  aras  flying  over  your 
head,  low  enough  to  let  you  have  a  full  view  of 
their  flaming  mantle.  The  Indians  find  their 
flesh  very  good,  and  the  feathers  serve  for  orna- 
ments in  their  head-dresses.  They  breed  in  the 
holes  of  trees,  are  easily  reared  and  tamed,  and 
learn  to  speak  pretty  distinctly. 

Another  species  frequents  the  low  lands  of 
Demerara.  He  is  nearly  the  size  of  the  scarlet 
ara,  but  much  inferior  in  plumage.  Blue  and 
yellow  are  his  predominant  colours. 

The  Bit-         Along  the  creeks  and  river  sides,  and  in  the 

tern.  .  . 

wet  savannas,  six  species  of  the  Bittern  will  en- 
gage your  attention.  They  are  all  handsome. 
The  smallest  not  so  large  as  the  English  water- 
hen. 

The  snow-  In  the  savannas  too,  you  will  sometimes  sur- 
Egrette.  prise  the  snow-white  Egrette,  whose  back  is 
adorned  with  the  plumes  from  which  it  takes  its 
name.  Here  too  the  spur-winged  water-hen,  the 
blue  and  green  water-hen,  and  two  other  species 
of  ordinary  plumage,  are  found.  While  in  quest 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  14-3 

of  these,  the  blue  heron,  the  large  and  small  brown    8EC°»"> 

JOURNEY. 

heron,  the  boatbill,  and  Muscovy  duck,  now  and 

then  rise  up  before  you. 

When  the  sun  has  sunk  in  the  western  woods, 
no  longer  agitated  by  the  breeze ;  when  you  can 
only  see  a  straggler  or  two  of  the  feathered  tribe 
hastening  to  join  its  mate,  already  at  its  roosting 
place,  then  it  is  that  the  goatsucker  comes  out  of  The  Goat- 
the  forest,  where  it  has  sat  all  day  long  in  slum-  s' 
bering  ease,  unmindful  of  the  gay  and  busy  scenes 
around  it.  Its  eyes  are  too  delicately  formed  to 
bear  the  light,  and  thus  it  is  forced  to  shun  the 
flaming  face  of  day,  and  wait  in  patience  till  night 
invites  him  to  partake  of  the  pleasures  her  dusky 
presence  brings. 

The  harmless,  unoffending  goatsucker,  from  the 
time  of  Aristotle  down  to  the  present  day,  has 
been  in  disgrace  with  man.  Father  has  handed 
down  to  son,  and  author  to  author,  that  this  noc- 
turnal thief  subsists  by  milking  the  flocks.  Poor 
injured  little  bird  of  night,  how  sadly  hast  thou 
suffered,  and  how  foul  a  stain  has  inattention  to 
facts  put  upon  thy  character !  Thou  hast  never 
robbed  man  of  any  part  of  his  property,  nor  de- 
prived the  kid  of  a  drop  of  milk. 

When  the  moon  shines  bright,  you  may  have 
a  fair  opportunity  of  examining  the  goatsucker. 
You  will  see  it  close  by  the  cows,  goats,  and 
sheep,  jumping  up  every  now  and  then,  under 
their  bellies.  Approach  a  little  nearer,— he  is  not 


144  WANDERINGS    IN 

shy,  "  he  fears  no  danger,  for  he  knows  no  sin." 
See  how  the  nocturnal  flies  are  tormenting  the 
herd,  and  with  what  dexterity  he  springs  up  and 
catches  them,  as  fast  as  they  alight  on  the  belly, 
legs,  and  udder  of  the  animals.  Observe  how 
quiet  they  stand,  and  how  sensible  they  seem  of 
his  good  offices,  for  they  neither  strike  at  him,  nor 
hit  him  with  their  tail,  nor  tread  on  him,  nor  try 
to  drive  him  away  as  an  uncivil  intruder.  Were 
you  to  dissect  him,  and  inspect  his  stomach,  you 
would  find  no  milk  there.  It  is  full  of  the  flies 
which  have  been  annoying  the  herd, 
its  piu-  The  prettily  mottled  plumage  of  the  goatsucker, 
like  that  of  the  owl,  wants  the  lustre  which  is 
observed  in  the  feathers  of  the  birds  of  day.  This, 
at  once  marks  him  as  a  lover  of  the  pale  moon's 
nightly  beams.  There  are  nine  species  here.  The 
largest  appears  nearly  the  size  of  the  English 
wood  owl.  Its  cry  is  so  remarkable,  that  having 
once  heard  it  you  will  never  forget  it.  When 
night  reigns  over  these  immeasurable  wilds,  whilst 
lying  in  your  hammock,  you  will  hear  this  goat- 
sucker lamenting  like  one  in  deep  distress.  A 
stranger  would  never  conceive  it  to  be  the  cry  of 
a  bird.  He  would  say  it  was  the  departing  voice 
of  a  midnight  murdered  victim,  or  the  last  wail- 
ing of  Niobe  for  her  poor  children,  before  she  was 
turned  into  stone.  Suppose  yourself  in  hopeless 
sorrow,  begin  with  a  high  loud  note,  and  pro- 
nounce, "  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,"  each  note 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  145 

lower  and  lower,  till   the  last  is  scarcely  heard.    8EC01(D 

JOURNEY. 

pausing  a  moment  or  two  betwixt  every  note,  and 

you  will  have  some  idea  of  the  moaning  of  the 
largest  goatsucker  in  Demerara. 

Four  other  species  of  the  goatsucker  articulate 
some  words  so  distinctly,  that  they  have  re- 
ceived their  names  from  the  sentences  they  utter, 
and  absolutely  bewilder  the  stranger  on  his 
arrival  in  these  parts.  The  most  common  one 
sits  down  close  by  your  door,  and  flies,  and 
alights  three  or  four  yards  before  you,  as  you 
walk  along  the  road,  crying,  "  Who-are-you,  who- 
who-who-are-you."  Another  bids  you,  "  Work- 
away, work-work-work-away."  A  third  cries, 
mournfully, "  Willy-come-go.  Willy- Willy- Willy- 
come-go."  And  high  up  in  the  country,  a  fourth 
tells  you  to  "  Whip-poor- Will.  Whip-whip-whip- 
poor-Will." 

You  will  never  persuade  the  negro  to  destroy 
these  birds,  or  get  the  Indian  to  let  fly  his  arrow 
at  them.  They  are  birds  of  omen,  and  reverential 
dread.  Jumbo,  the  demon  of  Africa,  has  them 
under  his  command ;  and  they  equally  obey  the 
Yabahou,  or  Demerara  Indian  devil.  They  are 
the  receptacles  for  departed  souls,  who  come  back 
again  to  earth,  unable  to  rest  for  crimes  done  in 
their  days  of  nature ;  or  they  are  expressly  sent 
by  Jumbo.,  or  Yabahou,  to  haunt  cruel  and  hard- 
hearted masters,  and  retaliate  injuries  received 
from  them.  If  the  largest  goatsucker  chance  to 


WANDERINGS    IN 


SECOND    cry  near  the  white  man's  door,  sorrow  and  grief 

JOURNEY.  * 

will  soon  be  inside ;  and  they  expect  to  see  the 

master  waste  away  with  a  slow  consuming  sick- 
ness. If  it  be  heard  close  to  the  negro's  or  Indian's 
hut,  from  that  night  misfortune  sits  brooding  over 
it ;  and  they  await  the  event  in  terrible  suspense. 
You  will  forgive  the  poor  Indian  of  Guiana  for 
this.  He  knows  no  better;  he  has  nobody  to 
teach  him.  But  shame  it  is,  that  in  our  own 
civilized  country,  the  black  cat  and  broomstaff 
should  be  considered  as  conductors  to  and  from 
the  regions  of  departed  spirits. 

Anecdote.  Many  years  ago  I  knew  poor  harmless  Mary ; 
old  age  had  marked  her  strongly,  just  as  he  will 
mark  you  and  me,  should  we  arrive  at  her  years 
and  carry  the  weight  of  grief  which  bent  her 
double.  The  old  men  of  the  village  said  she  had 
been  very  pretty  in  her  youth ;  and  nothing  could 
be  seen  more  comely  than  Mary  when  she  danced 
on  the  green.  He  who  had  gained  her  heart, 
left  her  for  another,  less  fair,  though  richer  than 
Mary.  From  that  time  she  became  sad  and  pen- 
sive ;  the  rose  left  her  cheek,  and  she  was  never 
more  seen  to  dance  round  the  May-pole  on  the 
green :  her  expectations  were  blighted ;  she  be- 
came quite  indifferent  to  every  thing  around  her, 
and  seemed  to  think  of  nothing  but  how  she 
could  best  attend  her  mother,  who  was  lame,  and 
not  long  for  this  life.  Her  mother  had  begged 
a  black  kitten  from  some  boys  who  were  going  to 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  147 

drown  it,   and  in  her  last  illness  she  told  Mary 

» 

to  be  kind  to  it  for  her  sake. 

When  age  and  want  had  destroyed  the  sym- 
metry of  Mary's  fine  form,  the  village  began  to 
consider  her  as  one  who  had  dealings  with  spirits; 
her  cat  confirmed  the  suspicion.  If  a  cow  died, 
or  a  villager  wasted  away  with  an  unknown  com- 
plaint, Mary  and  her  cat  had  it  to  answer  for. 
Her  broom  sometimes  served  her  for  a  walking- 
stick  :  and  if  ever  she  supported  her  tottering 
frame  with  it  as  far  as  the  May-pole,  where  once, 
in  youthful  bloom  and  beauty,  she  had  attracted 
the  eyes  of  all,  the  boys  would  surround  her,  and 
make  sport  of  her,  while  her  cat  had  neither  friend 
.  nor  safety  beyond  the  cottage  wall.  Nobody  con- 
sidered it  cruel  or  uncharitable  to  torment  a  witch ; 
and  it  is  probable,  long  before  this,  that  cruelty, 
old  age,  and  want,  have  worn  her  out,  and  that 
both  poor  Mary  and  her  cat  have  ceased  to  be. 

Would  you  wish  to  pursue  the  different  species 
of  game,  well  stored  and  boundless  is  your  range 
in  Demerara.  Here  no  one  dogs  you,  and  after- 
wards clandestinely  inquires  if  you  have  a  hundred 
a  year  in  land  to  entitle  you  to  enjoy  such  pa- 
trician sport.  Here  no  saucy  intruder  asks  if 
you  have  taken  out  a  licence,  by  virtue  of  which 
you  are  allowed  to  kill  the  birds  which  have  bred 
upon  your  own  property.  Here 

"  You  are  as  free  as  when  God  first  made  man, 
Ere  the  vile  laws  of  servitude  began, 
And  wild  in  woods  the  noble  savage  ran." 
L2 


148  WANDERINGS  IN 


SECOND        Before  the  morning's  dawn  you  hear  a  noise  in 

JOURNEY.  J  ^  * 

the  forest,  which  sounds  like  "  duraquaura"  often 

The  Par-  repeated.  This  is  the  partridge,  a  little  smaller, 
and  differing  somewhat  in  colour  from  the  English 
partridge :  it  lives  entirely  in  the  forest,  and 
probably  the  young  brood  very  soon  leave  their 
parents,  as  you  never  flush  more  than  two  birds 
in  the  same  place,  and  in  general  only  one. 
TWO  species  About  the  same  hour,  and  sometimes  even  at 

oftheMaam 

midnight,  you  hear  two  species  of  Maam,  or 
Tinamou,  send  forth  their  long  and  plaintive 
whistle  from  the  depth  of  the  forest.  The  flesh 
of  both  is  delicious.  The  largest  is  plumper,  and 
almost  equals  in  size  the  black  cock  of  Northum- 
berland. The  quail  is  said  to  be  here,  though 
rare. 

The  Hannaquoi,  which  some  have  compared  to 

quoi. 

the  pheasant,  though  with  little  reason,  is  very 
common. 
The  Powise      Hereare  also  two  species  of  the  Powise,or  Hocco, 

or  Hocco.  .  . 

and  two  of  the  small  wild  turkies  called  Maroudi ; 
they  feed  on  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  forest,  and 
are  found  in  all  directions  in  these  extensive  wilds. 
You  will  admire  the  horned  screamer  as  a  stately 
and  majestic  bird :  he  is  almost  the  size  of  the 
turkey  cock ;  on  his  head  is  a  long  slender  horn, 
and  each  wing  is  armed  with  a  strong,  sharp, 
triangular  spur,  an  inch  long. 
Flocks  of  Sometimes  you  will  fall  in  with  flocks  of  two 

Waracabas  * 

or  Trum-   or   three    hundred    Waracabas,   or   Trumpeters, 

peters. 

called  so  from  the  singular  noise  they  produce. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  149 

Their  breast  is  adorned  with  beautiful  changing    SECOND 

3     JOURNEY. 

blue   and  purple  feathers;  their  head   and  neck 

like  velvet ;  their  wings  and  back  grey,  and  belly 
black.  They  run  with  great  swiftness,  and  when 
domesticated,  attend  their  master  in  his  walks, 
with  as  much  apparent  affection  as  his  dog.  They 
have  no  spurs,  but  still,  such  is  their  high  spirit 
and  activity,  that  they  browbeat  every  dunghill 
fowl  in  the  yard,  and  force  the  Guinea  birds, 
dogs  and  turkies  to  own  their  superiority. 

If,  kind  and  gentle  reader,  thou  shouldst  ever 
visit  these  regions  with  an  intention  to  examine 
their  productions,  perhaps  the  few  observations 
contained  in  these  wanderings  may  be  of  service 
to  thee :  excuse  their  brevity :  more  could  have 
been  written,  and  each  bird  more  particularly 
described,  but  it  would  have  been  pressing  too 
hard  upon  thy  time  and  patience. 

Soon  after  arriving  in  these  parts,  thou  wilt 
find  that  the  species  here  enumerated  are  only  as 
a  handful  from  a  well-stored  granary.  Nothing 
has  been  said  of  the  eagles,  the  falcons,  the 
hawks,  and  shrikes ;  nothing  of  the  different 
species  of  vultures,  the  king  of  which  is  very 
handsome,  and  seems  to  be  the  only  bird  which 
claims  regal  honours  from  a  surrounding  tribe. 
It  is  a  fact  beyond  all  dispute,  that  when  the 
scent  of  carrion  has  drawn  together  hundreds  of 
the  common  vultures,  they  all  retire  from  the 
carcass  as  soon  as  the  king  of  the  vultures  makes 


150  WANDERINGS    IN 

his  appearance.     When  his  majesty  has  satisfied 

f  . 

the  cravings-  of  his  royal  stomach  with  the  choicest 
bits  from  the  most  stinking  and  corrupted  parts, 
he  generally  retires  to  a  neighbouring  tree,  and 
then  the  common  vultures  return  in  crowds  to 
gobble  down  his  leavings.  The  Indians,  as  well 
as  the  Whites,  have  observed  this  ;  for  when  one 
of  them,  who  has  learned  a  little  English,  sees 
the  king,  and  wishes  you  to  have  a  proper  notion 
of  the  bird,  he  says,  "  There  is  the  governor  of 
the  carrion  crows." 

Now,  the  Indians  have  never  heard  of  a  per- 
sonage in  Demerara  higher  than  that  of  governor ; 
and  the  colonists,  through  a  common  mistake, 
call  the  vultures  carrion  crows.  Hence  the  In- 
dian, in  order  to  express  the  dominion  of  this 
bird  over  the  common  vultures,  tells  you  he  is 
governor  of  the  carrion  crows.  The  Spaniards 
have  also  observed  it,  for,  through  all  the  Spanish 
Main,  he  is  called  Rey  de  Zamuros,  king  of  the 
vultures.  The  many  species  of  owls,  too,  have  not 
been  noticed  ;  and  no  mention  made  of  the  colum- 
bine tribe.  The  prodigious  variety  of  water  fowl, 
on  the  sea-shore,  has  been  but  barely  hinted  at. 

There,  and  on  the  borders  and  surface  of  the 
inland  waters,  in  the  marshes  and  creeks,  besides 
the  flamingos,  scarlet  curlews,  and  spoonbills, 
already  mentioned,  will  be  found ;  greenish-brown 
curlews,  sandpipers,  rails,  coots,  gulls,  pelicans, 
jabirus,  nandapoas,  crabiers,  snipes,  plovers, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  151 

ducks,    geese,    cranes,    and    anhingas;    most  of  SECOND 

.      {  JOURNEY. 

them  in  vast  abundance  ;  some  frequenting  only 

the  sea-coast,  others  only  the  interior,  according 
to  their  different  natures ;  all  worthy  the  attention 
of  the  naturalist,  "all  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
cabinet  of  the  curious. 

Should  thy  comprehensive  genius  not  confine 
itself  to  birds  alone,  grand  is  the  appearance  of 
other  objects  all  around.  Thou  art  in  a  land  rich 
in  botany  and  mineralogy,  rich  in  zoology  and 
entomology.  Animation  will  glow  in  thy  looks, 
and  exercise  will  brace  thy  frame  in  vigour.  The 
very  time  of  thy  absence  from  the  tables  of 
heterogeneous  luxury  will  be  profitable  to  thy 
stomach,  perhaps  already  sorely  drenched  with 
Londo-Parisian  sauces,  and  a  new  stock  of  health 
will  bring  thee  an  appetite  to  relish  the  whole- 
some food  of  the  chase.  Never-failing  sleep  will 
wait  on  thee  at  the  time  she  comes  to  soothe 
the  rest  of  animated  nature  ;  and,  ere  the  sun's 
rays  appear  in  the  horizon,  thou  wilt  spring  from 
thy  hammock  fresh  as  the  April  lark.  Be  con- 
vinced also,  that  the  dangers  and  difficulties  which 
are  generally  supposed  to  accompany  the  traveller 
in  his  journey  through  distant  regions,  are  not 
half  so  numerous  or  dreadful  as  they  are  com- 
monly thought  to  be. 

The  youth,   who   incautiously  reels    into   the  Danger*  u> 

be  appre- 

lobby  of  Drury-lane,  after  leaving  the  table  sacred  bended,  not 

3  ,        ;.  .      real  but 

to  the  god  of  wine,  is  exposed  to  more  certain 


152  WANDERINGS    IN 


SECOND 
JOURNEY. 


ruin,  sickness,  and  decay,  than  he  who  wanders 
a  whole  year  in  the  wilds  of  Demerara.  But  this 
will  never  be  believed ;  because  the  disasters 
arising  from  dissipation  are  so  common  and  fre- 
quent in  civilized  life,  that  man  becomes  quite 
habituated  to  them  ;  and  sees  daily  victims  sink 
into  the  tomb  long  before  their  time,  without  ever 
once  taking  alarm  at  the  causes  which  pre- 
cipitated them  headlong  into  it. 

But  the  dangers  which  a  traveller  exposes 
himself  to  in  foreign  parts  are  novel,  out  of  the 
way  things  to  a  man  at  home.  The  remotest 
apprehension  of  meeting  a  tremendous  tiger,  of 
being  carried  off  by  a  flying  dragon,  or  having 
his  bones  picked  by  a  famished  cannibal ;  oh,  that 
makes  him  shudder.  It  sounds  in  his  ears  like 
the  bursting  of  a  bomb-shell.  Thank  heaven,  he  is 
safe  by  his  own  fire-side. 

Prudence  and  resolution  ought  to  be  the  tra- 
veller's constant  companions.  The  first  will  cause 
him  to  avoid  a  number  of  snares  which  he  will 
find  in  the  path  as  he  journeys  on ;  and  the 
second  will  always  lend  a  hand  to  assist  him,  if  he 
has  unavoidably  got  entangled  in  them.  The 
little  distinctions  which  have  been  shown  him 
at  his  own  home,  ought  to  be  forgotten  when  he 
travels  over  the  world  at  large  ;  for  strangers 
know  nothing  of  his  former  merits,  and  it  is 
necessary  that  they  should  witness  them  before 
they  pay  him  the  tribute  which  he  was  wont  to 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  153 

receive  within  his  own  doors.     Thus,  to  be  kind 

,          ™ 

and  attable  to  those  we  meet,  to  mix  in  their 
amusements,  to  pay  a  compliment  or  two  to  their 
manners  and  customs,  to  respect  their  elders, 
to  give  a  little  to  their  distressed  and  needy, 
and  to  feel,  as  it  were,  at  home  amongst  them, 
is  the  sure  way  to  enable  you  to  pass  merrily  on, 
and  to  find  other  comforts  as  sweet  and  palatable 
as  those  which  you  were  accustomed  to  partake 
of  amongst  your  friends  and  acquaintance  in  your 
own  native  land.  We  will  now  ascend  in  fancy 
on  Icarian  wing,  and  take  a  view  of  Guiana  in 
general.  See  an  immense  plain  !  betwixt  two  of 
the  largest  rivers  in  the  world,  level  as  a  bowling- 
green,  save  at  Cayenne,  and  covered  with  trees 
along  the  coast  quite  to  the  Atlantic  wave,  except 
where  the  plantations  make  a  little  vacancy 
amongst  the  foliage. 

Though  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  torrid  zone, 
the  sun's  rays  are  not  so  intolerable  as  might 
be  imagined,  on  account  of  the  perpetual  ver- 
dure and  refreshing  north-east  breeze.  See  what 
numbers  of  broad  and  rapid  rivers  intersect  it 
in  their  journey  to  the  ocean,  and  that  not  a 
stone  or  a  pebble  is  to  be  found  on  their  banks, 
or  in  any  part  of  the  country,  till  your  eye 
catches  the  hills  in  the  interior.  How  beautiful 
and  magnificent  are  the  lakes  in  the  heart  of 
the  forests,  and  how  charming  the  forests  them- 
selves, for  miles  after  miles  on  each  side  of  the 


154  WANDERINGS    IN 

SECOND   rivers !     How  extensive  appear  the  savannas  or 

JOURNEY. 

natural  meadows,  teeming  with  innumerable  herds 

of  cattle,  where  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards 
are  settled,  but  desert  as  Saara,  where  the  English 
and  Dutch  claim  dominion!  How  gradually 
the  face  of  the  country  rises !  See  the  sand- 
hills all  clothed  in  wood  first  emerging  from 
the  level,  then  hills  a  little  higher,  rugged  with 
bold  and  craggy  rocks,  peeping  out  from  amongst 
the  most  luxuriant  timber.  Then  come  plains, 
and  dells,  and  far-extending  vallies,  arrayed  in 
richest  foliage ;  and  beyond  them,  mountains 
piled  on  mountains,  some  bearing  prodigious 
forests,  others  of  bleak  and  barren  aspect.  Thus 
your  eye  wanders  on,  over  scenes  of  varied 
loveliness  and  grandeur,  till  it  rests  on  the  stu- 
pendous pinnacles  of  the  long-continued  Cor- 
dilleras de  los  Andes,  which  rise  in  towering 
majesty,  and  command  all  America. 

How  fertile  must  the  low-lands  be,  from  the 
accumulation  of  fallen  leaves  and  trees  for  cen- 
turies! How  propitious  the  swamps  and  slimy 
beds  of  the  rivers,  heated  by  a  downward  sun, 
to  the  amazing  growth  of  alligators,  serpents, 
and  innumerable  insects  !  How  inviting  the 
forests  to  the  feathered  tribes,  where  you  see 
buds,  blossoms,  green  and  ripe  fruit,  full  grown 
and  fading  leaves,  all  on  the  same  tree !  How 
secure  the  wild  beasts  may  rove  in  endless  mazes  ! 
Perhaps  those  mountains  too,  which  appear  so 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  155 


bleak  and  naked,  as  if  quite  neglected,  are.  like    »ECOND 

JOURNEY. 

Potosi,  full  of  precious  metals. 


Let  us  now  return  the  pinions  we  borrowed  conclusion. 
from  Icarus,  and  prepare  to  bid  farewell  to  the 
wilds.  The  time  allotted  to  these  wanderings 
is  drawing  fast  to  a  close.  Every  day  for  the 
last  six  months  has  been  employed  in  paying 
close  attention  to  natural  history  in  the  forests 
of  Demerara.  Above  two  hundred  specimens 
of  the  finest  birds  have  been  collected,  and  a 
pretty  just  knowledge  formed  of  their  haunts 
and  economy.  From  the  time  of  leaving  Eng- 
land, in  March,  1816,  to  the  present  day,  nothing 
has  intervened  to  arrest  a  fine  flow  of  health, 
saving  a  quartan  ague,  which  did  not  tarry,  but 
fled  as  suddenly  as  it  appeared. 

And  now  I  take  leave  of  thee,  kind  and  gentle 
reader.  The  new  mode  of  preserving  birds, 
heretofore  promised  thee,  shall  not  be  forgotten. 
The  plan  is  already  formed  in  imagination,  and 
can  be  penned  down  during  the  passage  across 
the  Atlantic.  If  the  few  remarks  in  these  wander- 
ings shall  have  any  weight  in  inciting  thee  to  sally 
forth,  and  explore  the  vast  and  well-stored  regions 
of  Demerara,  I  have  gained  my  end.  Adieu. 

CHARLES  WATERTON. 
April  6,  1817. 


156  WANDERINGS   IN 


THIRD    JOURNEY. 


"  Desertosque  videre  locos,  littusque  relictum." 


THIRD    GENTLE  reader,  after  staying  a  few  months  in 

OURNEY.  » 

England,  I  strayed  across  the  Alps  and  the  Apen- 
nines, and  returned  home,  but  could  not  tarry. 
Guiana  still  whispered  in  my  ear,  and  seemed 
to  invite  me  once  more  to  wander  through  her 
distant  forests. 

Shouldst  thou  have  a  leisure  hour  to  read 
what  follows,  I  pray  thee  pardon  the  frequent 
use  of  that  unwelcome  monosyllable  I.  It  could 
not  well  be  avoided,  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
sequel.  In  February,  1820,  I  sailed  from  the 
Clyde,  on  board  the  Glenbervie,  a  fine  West- 
Indiaman.  She  was  driven  to  the  north-west 
of  Ireland,  and  had  to  contend  with  a  foul  and 
wintry  wind  for  above  a  fortnight.  At  last  it 
changed,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  passage  across 
the  Atlantic. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  157 

Sad  and  mournful  was  the  story  we  heard  on    THIRD 

*  JOURNEY. 

entering  the  river  Demerara.     The  yellow  fever  Yen0w 
had  swept  off  numbers  of  the  old  inhabitants,  and  DemeJlm 
the  mortal  remains  of  many  a  new  comer,   were 
daily  passing  down  the  streets,   in  slow  and  mute 
procession  to  their  last  resting-place. 

After  staying  a  few  days  in  the  town,  I  went  up  Residence 
the   Demerara  to  the   former    habitation  of  my  creek, 
worthy  friend,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  in  Mibiri  creek. 

The  house  had  been  abandoned  for  some  years. 
On  arriving  at  the  hill,  the  remembrance  of  scenes 
long  past  and  gone,  naturally  broke  in  upon  the 
mind.  All  was  changed  ;  the  house  was  in  ruins, 
and  gradually  sinking  under  the  influence  of  the 
sun  and  rain  ;  the  roof  had  nearly  fallen  in ;  and 
the  room,  where  once  governors  and  generals  had 
caroused,  was  now  dismantled,  and  tenanted  by 
the  vampire.  You  would  have  said, 

"  'Tis  now  the  vampire's  bleak  abode, 
'Tis  now  the  apartment  of  the  toad  : 
'Tis  here  the  painful  Chegoe  feeds, 
'Tis  here  the  dire  Labarri  breeds 
Conceal'd  in  ruins,  moss,  and  weeds." 

On  the  outside  of  the  house,  nature  had  nearly 
re-assumed  her  ancient  right :  a  few  straggling 
fruit-trees  were  still  discernible  amid  the  varied 
hue  of  the  near  approaching  forest ;  they  seemed 
like  strangers  lost,  and  bewildered,  and  unpitied, 
in  a  foreign  land,  destined  to  linger  a  little  longer, 
and  then  sink  down  for  ever. 


158  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD         I  hired  some  negroes  from  a  woodcutter  in  ano- 

JOURNEY. 

converted  ther  creek  to  repair  the  roof  ;  and  then  the  house, 


or  a*  least  what  remained  of  it,  became  head-quar- 
£ers  for  natural  history.  The  frogs,  and  here  and 
there  a  snake,  received  that  attention  which  the 
weak  in  this  world  generally  experience  from  the 
strong,  and  which  the  law  commonly  denominates 
an  ejectment.  But  here,  neither  the  frogs  nor 
serpents  were  ill-treated  ;  they  sallied  forth, 
without  buffet  or  rebuke,  to  choose  their  place  of 
residence;  the  world  was  all  before  them.  The 
owls  went  away  of  their  own  accord,  preferring  to 
retire  to  a  hollow  tree  rather  than  to  associate  with 
their  new  landlord.  The  bats  and  vampires  staid 
with  me,  and  went  in  and  out  as  usual. 

It  was  upon  this  hill  in  former  days  that  I  first 
tried  to  teach  John,  the  black  slave  of  my  friend 
Mr.  Edmonstone,  the  proper  way  to  do  birds. 
But  John  had  poor  abilities,  and  it  required  much 
time  and  patience  to  drive  any  thing  into  him. 
Some  years  after  this  his  master  took  him  to  Scot- 
land, where,  becoming  free,  John  left  him,  and 
,got  employed  in  the  Glasgow,  and  then  the 
Edinburgh  museum.  Mr.  Robert  Edmonstone, 
nephew  to  the  above  gentleman,  had  a  fine  mulatto 
capable  of  learning  any  thing.  He  requested  me 
to  teach  him  the  art.  I  did  so.  He  was  docile 
and  active,  and  was  with  me  all  the  time  in  the 
forest  ;  I  left  him  there  to  keep  up  this  new  art 
of  preserving  birds,  and  to  communicate  it  to 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  159 

others.     Here  then  I  fixed  my  head  quarters,  in    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

the  ruins  of  this  once  gay  and  hospitable  house. 

Close  by,  in  a  little  hut,  which,  in  times  long  past, 
had  served  for  a  store  to  keep  provisions  in,  there 
lived  a  coloured  man  and  his  wife,  by  name  Backer. 
Many  a  kind  turn  they  did  to  me  ;  and  I  was 
more  than  once  a  service  to  them  and  their 
children,  by  bringing  to  their  relief  in  time  of 
sickness,  what  little  knowledge  1  had  acquired 
of  medicine. 

I  would  here,  gentle  reader,  wish  to  draw  thy  Raiment 

.  .  ,,  and  diet. 

attention,  tor  a  tew  minutes,  to  physic,  raiment, 
and  diet.  Shouldst  thou  ever  wander  through 
these  remote  and  dreary  wilds,  forget  not  to  carry 
with  thee,  bark,  laudanum,  calomel,  and  jalap,  and 
the  lancet.  There  are  no  druggist  shops  here,  nor 
sons  of  Galen  to  apply  to  in  time  of  need.  I 
never  go  encumbered  with  many  clothes.  A  thin 
flannel  waistcoat  under  a  check  shirt,  a  pair  of 
trowsers,  and  a  hat,  were  all  my  wardrobe :  shoes 
and  stockings  I  seldom  had  on.  In  dry  weather 
they  would  have  irritated  the  feet,  and  retarded 
me  in  the  chase  of  wild  beasts ;  and  in  the  rainy 
season  they  would  have  kept  me  in  a  perpetual 
state  of  damp  and  moisture.  I  eat  moderately, 
and  never  drink  wine,  spirits,  or  fermented  liquors 
in  any  climate.  This  abstemiousness  has  ever 
proved  a  faithful  friend  ;  it  carried  me  triumphant 
through  the  epidemia  at  Malaga,  where  death 
made  such  havoc  about  the  beginning  of  the 


160  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


present  century  ;  and  it  has  since  befriended  me 

in  many  a  fit  of  sickness,  brought  on  by  exposure 

to  the  noon-day  sun,  to  the  dews  of  night,  to  the 
pelting  shower,  and  unwholesome  food. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  as  well,  here,  to  mention  a 
fever  which  came  on,  and  the  treatment  of  it ; 
it  may  possibly  be  of  use  to  thee,  shouldst  thou 
turn  wanderer  in  the  tropics :  a  word  or  two  also 
of  a  wound  I  got  in  the  forest,  and  then  we  will 
say  no  more  of  the  little  accidents  which  some- 
times occur,  and  attend  solely  to  natural  history. 
We  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  wild 
animals  in  their  native  haunts,  undisturbed  and 
unbroken  in  upon  by  man.  We  shall  have  time 
and  leisure  to  look  more  closely  at  them,  and 
probably  rectify  some  errors  which,  for  want  of 
proper  information,  or  a  near  observance,  have 
crept  into  their  several  histories. 
severe  It  was  in  the  month  of  June,  when  the  sun 

attack  of  •   i  •  p  i  t>    f^  -IT-IT 

fever.  was  within  a  few  days  ot  Cancer,  that  1  had  a 
severe  attack  of  fever.  There  had  been  a  deluge 
of  rain,  accompanied  with  tremendous  thunder 
and  lightning,  and  very  little  sun.  Nothing  could 
exceed  the  dampness  of  the  atmosphere.  For  two 
or  three  days  I  had  been  in  a  kind  of  twilight  state 
of  health,  neither  ill  nor  what  you  may  call  well ; 
I  yawned  and  felt  weary  without  exercise,  and 
my  sleep  was  merely  slumber.  This  was  the 
time  to  have  taken  medicine ;  but  I  neglected  to 
do  so,  though  I  had  just  beeen  reading,  "  O  navis 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  161 

referent  in  mare  te  novi  fluctus,   O  quid  agis  ?    THIRD 

.  JOURNEY. 

iortiter  occupa  portum."  I  awoke  at  midnight ;  - 
a  cruel  head-ach,  thirst,  and  pain  in  the  small  of 
the  back,  informed  me  what  the  case  was.  Had 
Chiron  himself  been  present,  he  could  not  have 
told  me  more  distinctly  that  I  was  going  to  have 
a  tight  brush  of  it,  and  that  I  ought  to  meet 
it  with  becoming  fortitude.  I  dozed,  and  woke, 
and  startled,  and  then  dozed  again,  and  suddenly 
awoke,  thinking  I  was  falling  down  a  precipice. 

The  return  of  the  bats  to  their  diurnal  retreat, 
which  was  in  the  thatch  above  my  hammock, 
informed  me  that  the  sun  was  now  fast  approach- 
ing to  the  eastern  horizon.  I  arose,  in  languor 
and  in  pain,  the  pulse  at  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
I  took  ten  grains  of  calomel  and  a  scruple  of  jalap, 
and  drank  during  the  day  large  draughts  of  tea, 
weak  and  warm.  The  physic  did  its  duty ;  but 
there  was  no  remission  of  fever  or  head-ach, 
though  the  pain  of  the  back  was  less  acute.  I 
was  saved  the  trouble  of  keeping  the  room  cool, 
as  the  wind  beat  in  at  every  quarter. 

At  five  in  the  evening  the  pulse  had  risen  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty,  and  the  head-ach  almost 
insupportable,  especially  on  looking  to  the  right 
or  left.  I  now  opened  a  vein,  and  made  a  large 
orifice,  to  allow  the  blood  to  rush  out  rapidly ;  I 
closed  it  after  losing  sixteen  ounces.  I  then 
steeped  my  feet  in  warm  water,  and  got  into  the 
hammock.  After  bleeding,  the  pulse  fell  to  ninety, 

M 


WANDERINGS    IN 

anci  the  head  was  much  relieved ;  but  during  the 
night,    which   was   very  restless,  the   pulse  rose 
again  to  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  at  times 
the    head-ach   was    distressing.      I    relieved    the 
head-ach  from  time  to  time,   by  applying   cold 
water  to  the  temples,  and  holding  a  wet  hand- 
kerchief there.     The  next  morning  the  fever  ran 
very  high,  and  I  took  five  more  grains  of  calomel 
and  ten  of  jalap,  determined,  whatever  might  be 
the  case,  this  should  be  the  last  dose  of  calomel. 
About   two  o'clock   in   the    afternoon   the   fever 
remitted,    and  a  copious   perspiration  came  on  ; 
there  was  no  more  head-ach,  nor  thirst,  nor  pain 
in  the  back,  and  the  following  night  was  com- 
paratively   a   good   one.      The   next  morning   I 
swallowed  a   large   dose   of  castor   oil :    it  was 
genuine,  for  Louisa  Backer  had  made  it  from  the 
seeds  of  the  trees  which  grew  near  the  door.     I 
was  now  entirely  free  from  all  symptoms  of  fever, 
or  apprehensions  of  a  return;  and  the  morning 
after  I  began  to  take  bark,  and  continued  it  for 
a  fortnight.     This  put  all  to  rights. 

The  story  of  the  wound  I  got  in  the  forest,  and 
the  mode  of  cure,  are  very  short. — I  had  pursued 
a  red-headed  woodpecker  for  above  a  mile  in  the 
forest,  without  being  able  to  get  a  shot  at  it.  Think- 
ing more  of  the  woodpecker,  as  I  ran  along,  than  of 
the  way  before  me,  I  trod  upon  a  little  hardwood 
stump,  which  was  just  about  an  inch  or  so  above 
the  ground;  it  entered  the  hollow  part  of  my 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  163 


JOURNEY. 


foot,  making  a  deep  and  lacerated  wound  there.    THIRD 

i  mi'Hvrv 

It  had  brought  me  to  the  ground,  and  there  I  lay 
till  a  transitory  fit  of  sickness  went  off.  I  allowed 
it  to  bleed  freely,  and  on  reaching  head-quarters, 
washed  it  well  and  probed  it,  to  feel  if  any  foreign 
body  was  left  within  it.  Being  satisfied  that 
there  was  none,  I  brought  the  edges  of  the  wound 
together,  and  then  put  a  piece  of  lint  on  it,  and 
over  that  a  very  large  poultice,  which  was  changed 
morning,  noon,  and  night.  Luckily,  Backer  had 
a  cow  or  two  upon  the  hill ;  now  as  heat  and 
moisture  are  the  two  principal  virtues  of  a  poul- 
tice, nothing  could  produce  those  two  qualities 
better  than  fresh  cow-dung  boiled  :  had  there  been 
no  cows  there,  I  could  have  made  out  with  boiled 
grass  and  leaves.  I  now  took  entirely  to  the 
hammock,  placing  the  foot  higher  than  the  knee ; 
this  prevented  it  from  throbbing,  and  was,  indeed, 
the  only  position  in  which  I  could  be  at  ease. 
When  the  inflammation  was  completely  subdued, 
I  applied  a  wet  cloth  to  the  wound,  and  every 
now  and  then  steeped  the  foot  in  cold  water 
during  the  day,  and  at  night  again  applied  a 
poultice.  The  wound  was  now  healing  fast,  and 
in  three  weeks  from  the  time  of  the  accident, 
nothing  but  a  scar  remained  ;  so  that  1  again 
sallied  forth  sound  and  joyful,  and  said  to  myself — 

"  I,  quo  te  pedes  rapiunt  et  aurae 
Dum  favet  sol,  et  locus,  i  secundo 
Omine,  et  conto  latebras,  ut  olira, 

Rnmpc  ferarum," 
M  2 


164  WANDERINGS   IN 


THIRD     Now.  this  contus  was  a  tough  light  pole,  eight  feet 

JOURNEY. 

-  long,  on  the  end  of  which  was  fixed  an  old  bayonet. 
I  never  went  into  the  canoe  without  it ;  it  was  of 
great  use  in  starting  the  beasts  and  snakes  out  of 
the  hollow  trees,  and,  in  case  of  need,  was  an 
excellent  defence. 
Last  con-  Jn  1819,  I  had  the  last  conversation  with  Sir 

versation 

with  sir     Joseph  Banks.    I  saw  with  sorrow  that  death  was 

Joseph 

Banks.  going  to  rob  us  of  him.  We  talked  much  of  the 
present  mode  adopted  by  all  museums  in  stuffing 
quadrupeds,  and  condemned  it  as  being  very 
imperfect;  still  we  could  not  find  out  a  better 
way ;  and  at  last  concluded*  that  the  lips  and 
nose  ought  to  be  cut  off,  and  replaced  with  wax  ; 
it  being  impossible  to  make  those  parts  appear 
like  life,  as  they  shrink  to  nothing,  and  render  the 
stuffed  specimens  in  the  different  museums  horrible 
to  look  at.  The  defects  in  the  legs  and  feet  would 
not  be  quite  so  glaring,  being  covered  with  hair. 

stuffing          I  had  paid  great  attention  to  this  subject  for 

birds  and  .,  ...      . 

quadrupeds,  above  tourtecn  years ;  still  it  would  not  do : 
however,  one  night,  while  I  was  lying  in  the 
hammock,  and  harping  on  the  string  on  which 
hung  all  my  solicitude,  I  hit  upon  the  proper 
mode  by  inference ;  it  appeared  clear  to  me  that 
it  was  the  only  true  way  of  going  to  work,  and 
ere  I  closed  my  eyes  in  sleep,  I  was  able  to  prove 
to  myself  that  there  could  not  be  any  other  way 
that  would  answer.  I  tried  it  the  next  day,  and 
succeeded  according  to  expectation. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  165 

By  means  of  this  process,  which  is  very  simple,    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

we  can  now  give  every  feature  back  again  to  the  - 
animal's   face,    after  it  has   been  skinned ;     and 
when  necessary,  stamp  grief  or  pain,  or  pleasure, 
or  rage,  or  mildness  upon  it.     But  more  of  this 
hereafter. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  Sloth,  whose  The  sloth, 
native  haunts  have  hitherto  been  so  little  known, 
and  probably  little  looked  into.  Those  who  have 
written  on  this  singular  animal,  have  remarked 
that  he  is  in  a  perpetual  state  of  pain,  that  he  is 
proverbially  slow  in  his  movements,  that  he  is 
a  prisoner  in  space,  and  that  as  soon  as  he  has 
consumed  all  the  leaves  of  the  tree  upon  which 
he  had  mounted,  he  rolls  himself  up  in  the  form 
of  a  ball,  and  then  falls  to  the  ground.  This  is 
not  the  case. 

If  the  naturalists  who  have  written  the  history 
of  the  sloth  had  gone  into  the  wilds,  in  order 
to  examine  his  haunts  and  economy,  they  would 
not  have  drawn  the  foregoing  conclusions  ;  they 
would  have  learned,  that  though  all  other  quad- 
rupeds may  be  described  while  resting  upon  the 
ground,  the  sloth  is  an  exception  to  this  rule, 
and  that  his  history  must  be  written  while  he  is 
in  the  tree. 

This  singular  animal  is  destined  by  nature  to 
be  produced,  to  live  and  to  die  in  the  trees  ;  and 
to  do  justice  to  him,  naturalists  must  examine  him 
in  this  his  upper  element.  He  is  a  scarce  and 


166  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD,    solitary  animal,  and  being  good  food,  he  is  never 

JOURNEY.  * 

Lives  fa —  allowed  to  escape.  He  inhabits  remote  and 
forests7  gloomy  forests,  where  snakes  take  up  their  abode, 
and  where  cruelly  stinging  ants  and  scorpions, 
and  swamps,  and  innumerable  thorny  shrubs 
and  bushes,  obstruct  the  steps  of  civilized  man. 
Were  you  to  draw  your  own  conclusions  from  the 
descriptions  which  have  been  given  of  the  sloth, 
you  would  probably  suspect,  that  no  naturalist 
has  actually  gone  into  the  wilds  with  the  fixed 
determination  to  find  him  out  and  examine  his 
haunts,  and  see  whether  nature  has  committed 
any  blunder  in  the  formation  of  this  extraordi- 
nary creature,  which  appears  to  us  so  forlorn  and 
miserable,  so  ill  put  together,  and  so  totally  unfit 
to  enjoy  the  blessings  which  have  been  so  boun- 
tifully given  to  the  rest  of  animated  nature ;  for, 
as  it  has  formerly  been  remarked,  he  has  no  soles 
to  his  feet,  and  he  is  evidently  ill  at  ease  when 
he  tries  to  move  on  the  ground,  and  it  is  then 
that  he  looks  up  in  your  face  with  a  countenance 
that  says,  "  Have  pity  on  me,  for  I  am  in  pain 
and  sorrow." 

It  mostly  happens  that  Indians  and  Negroes 
are  the  people  who  catch  the  sloth,  and  bring  it 
to  the  white  man :  hence  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  the  erroneous  accounts  we  have  hitherto  had 
of  the  sloth,  have  not  been  penned  down  with  the 
slightest  intention  to  mislead  the  reader,  or  give 
him  an  exaggerated  history,  but  that  these  errors 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  167 

have  naturally  arisen  by  examining  the  sloth  in     THIRD 

*  J  JOURNEY. 

those  places  where  nature  never  intended  that  he  - 
should  be  exhibited. 

However,  we  are  now  in  his  own  domain.  Man 
but  little  frequents  these  thick  and  noble  forests, 
which  extend  far  and  wide  on  every  side  of  us. 
This,  then,  is  the  proper  place  to  go  in  quest  of 
the  sloth.  We  will  first  take  a  near  view  of  him. 
By  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  his  anatomy,  we  Anatomy  of 

1/11     U  Ul    A  f         U-  L     theSloth- 

shall  be  enabled  to  account  tor  his  movements 
hereafter,  when  we  see  him  in  his  proper  haunts. 
His  fore-legs,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  his 
arms,  are  apparently  much  too  long,  while  his 
hind-legs  are  very  short,  and  look  as  if  they  could 
be  bent  almost  to  the  shape  of  a  corkscrew.  Both 
the  fore  and  hind  legs,  by  their  form,  and  by  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  joined  to  the  body,  are 
quite  incapacitated  from  acting  in  a  perpendicular 
direction,  or  in  supporting  it  on  the  earth,  as  the 
bodies  of  other  quadrupeds  are  supported,  by 
their  legs.  Hence,  when  you  place  him  on  the 
floor,  his  belly  touches  the  ground.  Now,  granted 
that  he  supported  himself  on  his  legs  like  other 
animals,  nevertheless  he  would  be  in  pain,  for  he 
has  no  soles  to  his  feet,  and  his  claws  are  very 
sharp  and  long,  and  curved  ;  so  that,  were  his 
body  supported  by  his  feet,  it  would  be  by  their 
extremities,  just  as  your  body  would  be,  were 
you  to  throw  yourself  on  all  fours,  and  try  to 
support  it  on  the  ends  of  your  toes  and  fingers — 


168  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


a  trymS  position.  Were  the  floor  of  glass,  or  of 
a  polished  surface,  the  sloth  would  actually  be 
quite  stationary ;  but  as  the  ground  is  generally 
rough,  with  little  protuberances  upon  it,  such  as 
stones,  or  roots  of  grass,  &c.,  this  just  suits  the 
sloth,  and  he  moves  his  fore-legs  in  all  directions, 
in  order  to  find  something  to  lay  hold  of;  and 
when  he  has  succeeded,  he  pulls  himself  forward, 
and  is  thus  enabled  to  travel  onwards,  but  at  the 
same  time  in  so  tardy  and  awkward  a  manner,  as 
to  acquire  him  the  name  of  Sloth. 

Indeed  his  looks  and  his  gestures  evidently 
betray  his  uncomfortable  situation :  and  as  a  sigh 
every  now  and  then  escapes  him,  we  may  be 
entitled  to  conclude  that  he  is  actually  in  pain. 

Some  years  ago  I  kept  a  sloth  in  my  room  for 
several  months.  I  often  took  him  out  of  the 
house  and  placed  him  upon  the  ground,  in  order 
to  have  an  opportunity  of  observing  his  motions. 
If  the  ground  were  rough,  he  would  pull  himself 
forwards,  by  means  of  his  fore-legs,  at  a  pretty 
good  pace  ;  and  he  invariably  immediately  shaped 
his  course  towards  the  nearest  tree.  But  if  I  put 
him  upon  a  smooth  and  well-trodden  part  of  the 
road,  he  appeared  to  be  in  trouble  and  distress  : 
his  favourite  abode  was  the  back  of  a  chair :  and 
after  getting  all  his  legs  in  a  line  upon  the  top- 
most part  of  it,  he  would  hang  there  for  hours 
together,  and  often  with  a  low  and  inward  cry, 
would  seem  to  invite  me  to  take  notice  of  him. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  1G9 

The  sloth,  in  its  wild  state,  spends  its  whole    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

life  in  trees,  and  never  leaves  them  but  through  

force,  or  by  accident.  An  all-ruling  Providence 
has  ordered  man  to  tread  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  the  eagle  to  soar  in  the  expanse  of  the 
skies,  and  the  monkey  and  squirrel  to  inhabit  the 
trees :  still  these  may  change  their  relative  situa- 
tions without  feeling  much  inconvenience :  but 
the  sloth  is  doomed  to  spend  his  whole  life  in  the 
trees ;  and,  what  is  more  extraordinary,  not  upon 
the  branches,  like  the  squirrel  and  the  monkey, 
but  under  them.  He  moves  suspended  from  the 
branch,  he  rests  suspended  from  it,  and  he  sleeps 
suspended  from  it.  To  enable  him  to  do  this, 
he  must  have  a  very  different  formation  from 
that  of  any  other  known  quadruped. 

Hence,  his  seemingly  bungled  conformation  is 
at  once  accounted  for  ;  and  in  lieu  of  the  sloth 
leading  a  painful  life,  and  entailing  a  melancholy 
and  miserable  existence  on  its  progeny,  it  is  but 
fair  to  surmise  that  it  just  enjoys  life  as  much 
as  any  other  animal,  and  that  its  extraordinary 
formation  and  singular  habits  are  but  further 
proofs  to  engage  us  to  admire  the  wonderful 
works  of  Omnipotence. 

It  must  be  observed,  that  the  sloth  does  not 
hang  head-downwards  like  the  vampire.  When 
asleep,  he  supports  himself  from  a  branch  parallel 
to  the  earth.  He  first  seizes  the  branch  with  one 
arm,  and  then  with  the  other  ;  and  after  that, 


170  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    brings  up  both  his  less,  one  by  one,  to  the  same 

JOURNEY.  ' 

•  branch  ;  so  that  all  four  are  in  a  line :  he  seems 

perfectly  at  rest  in  this  position.  Now,  had  he 
a  tail,  he  would  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
do  with  it  in  this  position  :  were  he  to  draw 
it  up  within  his  legs,  it  would  interfere  with 
them ;  and  were  he  to  let  it  hang  down,  it  would 
become  the  sport  of  the  winds.  Thus  his  defi- 
ciency of  tail  is  a  benefit  to  him;  it  is  merely 
an  apology  for  a  tail,  scarcely  exceeding  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  length. 

I  observed,  when  he  was  climbing,  he  never 
used  his  arms  both  together,  but  first  one  and 
then  the  other,  and  so  on  alternately.  There  is 
a  singularity  in  his  hair,  different  from  that  of  all 
other  animals,  and,  I  believe,  hitherto  unnoticed 
by  naturalists  ;  his  hair  is  thick  and  coarse  at  the 
extremity,  and  gradually  tapers  to  the  root,  where 
it  becomes  fine  as  a  spider's  web.  His  fur  has  so 
much  the  hue  of  the  moss  which  grows  on  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
make  him  out  when  he  is  at  rest. 

The  male  of  the  three-toed  sloth  has  a  longi- 
tudinal bar  of  very  fine  black  hair  on  his  back, 
rather  lower  than  the  shoulder-blades  ;  on  each 
side  of  this  black  bar  there  is  a  space  of  yellow 
hair,  equally  fine  ;  it  has  the  appearance  of  being 
pressed  into  the  body,  and  looks  exactly  as  if 
it  had  been  singed.  If  we  examine  the  anatomy 
of  his  fore-legs,  we  shall  immediately  perceive  by 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  171 

their  firm  and  muscular  texture,  how  very  capable    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

they  are  of  supporting  the  pendent  weight  of  - 
his  body,  both  in  climbing  and  at  rest ;  and, 
instead  of  pronouncing  them  a  bungled  com- 
position, as  a  celebrated  naturalist  has  done, 
we  shall  consider  them  as  remarkably  well  calcu- 
lated to  perform  their  extraordinary  functions. 

As  the  sloth  is  an  inhabitant  of  forests  within 
the  tropics,  where  the  trees  touch  each  other  in 
the  greatest  profusion,  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  why  he  should  confine  himself  to  one  tree 
alone  for  food,  and  entirely  strip  it  of  its  leaves. 
During  the  many  years  I  have  ranged  the  forests, 
I  have  never  seen  a  tree  in  such  a  state  of  nudity  ; 
indeed,  I  would  hazard  a  conjecture,  that,  by  the 
time  the  animal  had  finished  the  last  of  the 
old  leaves,  there  would  be  a  new  crop  on  the 
part  of  the  tree  he  had  stripped  first,  ready  for 
him  to  begin  again,  so  quick  is  the  process  of 
vegetation  in  these  countries. 

There  is  a  saying  amongst  the  Indians,  that 
when  the  wind  blows,  the  sloth  begins  to  travel. 
In  calm  .weather  he  remains  tranquil,  probably 
not  liking  to  cling  to  the  brittle  extremity  of  the 
branches,  lest  they  should  break  with  him  in 
passing  from  one  tree  to  another ;  but  as  soon 
as  the  wind  rises,  the  branches  of  the  neighbour- 
ing trees  become  interwoven,  and  then  the  sloth 
seizes  hold  of  them,  and  pursues  his  journey 
in  safety.  There  is  seldom  an  entire  day  of 


172  '         WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


calm   in  these    forests.      The    trade-wind   gene- 

rally  sets  in  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 

and  thus  the  sloth  may  set  off  after  breakfast, 
and  get  a  considerable  way  before  dinner.  He 
travels  at  a  good  round  pace ;  and  were  you  to 
see  him  pass  from  tree  to  tree,  as  I  have  done, 
you  would  never  think  of  calling  him  a  sloth. 

Thus,  it  would  appear  that  the  different  his- 
tories we  have  of  this  quadruped  are  erroneous 
on  two  accounts  :  first,  that  the  writers  of  them, 
deterred  by  difficulties  and  local  annoyances, 
have  not  paid  sufficient  attention  to  him  in  his 
native  haunts  ;  and  secondly,  they  have  described 
him  in  a  situation  in  which  he  was  never  intended 
by  nature  to  cut  a  figure  ;  I  mean  on  the  ground. 
The  sloth  is  as  much  at  a  loss  to  proceed  on  his 
journey  upon  a  smooth  and  level  floor,  as  a  man 
would  be  who  had  to  walk  a  mile  in  stilts  upon  a 
line  of  feather  beds. 
The  two-  One  day,  as  we  were  crossing  the  Essequibo, 

toed  Sloth.  *' 

I  saw  a  large  two-toed  sloth  on  the  ground  upon 
the  bank ;  how  he  had  got  there  nobody  could 
tell :  the  Indian  said  he  had  never  surprised  a 
sloth  in  such  a  situation  before  :  he  would  hardly 
have  come  there  to  drink,  for  both  above  and 
below  the  place,  the  branches  of  the  trees  touched 
the  water,  and  afforded  him  an  easy  and  safe 
access  to  it.  Be  this  as  it  may,  though  the  trees 
were  not  above  twenty  yards  from  him,  he  could 
not  make  his  way  through  the  sand  time  enough 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  17,3 

to  escape  before    we    landed.      As  soon   as  we     T"1RU 

JOURNEY. 

got  up  to  him  he  threw  himself  upon  his  back,  - 
and   defended  himself  in  gallant  style  with  his 
fore-legs.     "  Come,  poor  fellow,"  said  I  to  him, 
"  if  thou  hast  got   into  a   hobble   to-day,  thou 
shalt  not  suffer  for  it :  I'll  take  rio   advantage  of 
thee  in  misfortune ;    the  forest  is  large  enough 
both  for  thee  and  me  to  rove  in  :   go  thy  ways 
up  above,  and  enjoy  thyself  in  these  endless  wilds  ; 
it  is  more  than  probable   thou  wilt   never   have 
another  interview  with  man.     So  fare  thee  well." 
On  saying  this,  I  took  a  long  stick  which  was 
lying  there,  held  it    for    him  to  hook    on,  and 
then  conveyed  him  to  a  high  and  stately  mora. 
He    ascended    with  wonderful   rapidity,   and    in 
about   a   minute   he   was   almost  at   the  top  of 
the  tree.     He  now  went  off  in  a  side  direction, 
and  caught  hold  of  the  branch  of  a  neighbouring 
tree  ;    he  then  proceeded  towards   the  heart  of 
the  forest.     I  stood  looking  on,  lost  in  amazement 
at  his  singular  mode  of  progress.     I  followed  him 
with  my  eye  till  the  intervening  branches  closed 
in  betwixt  us  ;    and  then   I  lost  sight  for  ever 
of  the  two-toed  sloth.     I  was  going  to  add,  that 
I  never  saw  a  sloth   take   to  his  heels  in  such 
earnest ;  but  the  expression  will  not  do,  for  the 
sloth  has  no  heels. 

That  which  naturalists  have  advanced  of  his 
being  so  tenacious  of  life,  is  perfectly  true.  I 
saw  the  heart  of  one  beat  for  half  an  hour  after  it 


174  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    was  taken  out  of  the  body.     The  wourali  poison 

JOURNEY.  » 

seems  to  be  the  only  thing  that  will  kill  it  quickly. 

On  reference  to  a  former  part  of  these  wanderings, 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  poisoned  arrow  killed  the 
sloth  in  about  ten  minutes. 

So  much  for  this  harmless,  unoffending  animal. 
He  holds  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  catalogue  of 
the  animals  of  the  new  world.  Though  natural- 
ists have  made  no  mention  of  what  follows,  still 
it  is  not  less  true  on  that  account.  The  sloth  is 
the  only  quadruped  known,  which  spends  its  whole 
life  from  the  branch  of  a  tree,  suspended  by  his 
feet.  I  have  paid  uncommon  attention  to  him 
in  his  native  haunts.  The  monkey  and  squirrel 
will  seize  a  branch  with  their  fore-feet,  and 
pull  themselves  up,  and  rest  or  run  upon  it ; 
but  the  sloth,  after  seizing  it,  still  remains  sus- 
pended, and  suspended  moves  along  under  the 
branch,  till  he  can  lay  hold  of  another.  When- 
ever I  have  seen  him  in  his  native  woods,  whether 
at  rest,  or  asleep,  or  on  his  travels,  I  have 
always  observed  that  he  was  suspended  from 
the  branch  of  a  tree.  When  his  form  and  ana- 
tomy are  attentively  considered,  it  will  appear 
evident  that  the  sloth  cannot  be  at  ease  in  any 
situation,  where  his  body  is  higher,  or  above  his 
feet.  We  will  now  take  our  leave  of  him. 
Ants.  In  the  far-extending  wilds  of  Guiana,  the 

traveller    will    be    astonished    at    the    immense 
quantity  of  ants  which  he  perceives  on  the  ground 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  175 

and  in  the  trees.  They  have  nests  in  the  branches,    THIRD 

*  JOURNEY. 

four  or  five  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  rook ;  - 
and  they  have  a  covered  way  from  them  to  the 
ground.  In  this  covered  way  thousands  are 
perpetually  passing  and  repassing ;  and  if  you 
destroy  part  of  it,  they  turn  to,  and  immediately 
repair  it. 

Other  species  of  ants  again  have  no  covered 
way ;  but  travel,  exposed  to  view,  upon  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  You  will  sometimes  see 
a  string  of  these  ants  a  mile  long,  each  carrying 
in  its  mouth  to  its  nest  a  green  leaf,  the  size 
of  a  sixpence.  It  is  wonderful  to  observe  the 
order  in  which  they  move,  and  with  what  pains 
and  labour  they  surmount  the  obstructions  of 
the  path. 

The  ants   have  their  enemies,  as  well  as  the  Three 

. '  „  species  of 

rest  of  animated  nature.  Amongst  the  foremost  Ant-bea«. 
of  these  stand  the  three  species  of  ant-bears. 
The  smallest  is  not  much  larger  than  a  rat ; 
the  next  is  nearly  the  size  of  a  fox;  and  the 
third  a  stout  and  powerful  animal,  measuring 
about  six  feet  from  the  snout  to  the  end  of  the 
tail.  He  is  the  most  inoffensive  of  all  animals, 
and  never  injures  the  property  of  man.  He  is 
chiefly  found  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  forest, 
and  seems  partial  to  the  low  and  swampy  parts 
near  creeks,  where  the  troely  tree  grows.  There 
he  goes  up  and  down  in  quest  of  ants,  of  which 
there  is  never  the  least  scarcity;  so  that  he  soon 


176  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD     obtains  a  sufficient  supply  of  food,  with  very  little 

JOURNEY.  * «    * 

-  trouble.  He  cannot  travel  fast ;  man  is  superior 
to  him  in  speed.  Without  swiftness  to  enable 
him  to  escape  from  his  enemies,  without  teeth, 
the  possession  of  which  would  assist  him  in  self- 
defence,  and  without  the  power  of  burrowing 
in  the  ground,  by  which  he  might  conceal  himself 
from  his  pursuers,  he  still  is  capable  of  ranging 
through  these  wilds  in  perfect  safety  ;  nor  does 
he  fear  the  fatal  pressure  of  the  serpent's  fold, 
or  the  teeth  of  the  famished  jaguar.  Nature 
has  formed  his  fore-legs  wonderfully  thick,  and 
strong,  and  muscular,  and  armed  his  feet  with 
three  tremendous  sharp  and  crooked  claws. 
Whenever  he  seizes  an  animal  with  these  formid- 
able weapons,  he  hugs  it  close  to  his  body, 
and  keeps  it  there  till  it  dies  through  pressure, 
or  through  want  of  food.  Nor  does  the  ant- 
bear,  in  the  mean  time,  suffer  much  from  loss 
of  aliment,  as  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  he 
can  go  longer  without  food  than,  perhaps,  any 
other  animal,  except  the  land  tortoise.  His  skin 
is  of  a  texture  that  perfectly  resists  the  bite 
of  a  dog ;  his  hinder  parts  are  protected  -by 
thick  and  shaggy  hair,  while  his  immense  tail 
is  large  enough  to  cover  his  whole  body. 

The  Indians  have  a  great  dread  of  coming 
in  contact  with  the  ant-bear ;  and  after  disabling 
him  in  the  chase,  never  think  of  approaching 
him  till  he  be  quite  dead.  It  is  perhaps  on 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  177 

account  of   this   caution,    that    naturalists    have    THIRD 

JOUKNKY. 

never  yet  given  to  the  world  a  true  and  correct  — 
drawing  of  this  singular  animal,  or  described  the 
peculiar  position  of  his  fore-feet  when  he  walks  or 
stands.  If,  in  taking  a  drawing  from  a  dead  ant- 
bear,  you  judge  of  the  position  in  which  he 
stands  from  that  of  all  other  terrestrial  animals, 
the  sloth  excepted,  you  will  be  in  error.  Examine 
only  a  figure  of  this  animal,  in  books  of  natural 
history,  or  inspect  a  stuffed  specimen  in  the 
best  museums,  and  you  will  see  that  the  fore  • 
claws  are  just  in  the  same  forward  attitude 
as  those  of  a  dog,  or  a  common  bear  when  he 
walks  or  stands.  But  this  is  a  distorted  and 
unnatural  position ;  and  in  life,  would  be  a 
painful  and  intolerable  attitude  for  the  ant-bear. 
The  length  and  curve  of  his  claws  cannot  admit 
of  such  a  position.  When  he  walks  or  stands, 
his  feet  have  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a 
club-hand.  He  goes  entirely  on  the  outer  side 
of  his  fore-feet,  which  are  quite  bent  inwards  ; 
the  claws  collected  into  a  point,  and  going 
under  the  foot.  In  this  position  he  is  quite  at 
ease ;  while  his  long  claws  are  disposed  of  in 
a  manner  to  render  them  harmless  to  him,  and 
are  prevented  from  becoming  dull  and  worn, 
like  those  of  the  dog,  which  would  inevitably 
be  the  case,  did  their  points  come  in  actual 
contact  with  the  ground;  for  his  claws  have 
not  that  retractile  power  which  is  given  to 

N 


178  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD     animals   of    the   feline    species,    by   which   they 

JOURNEY. 

are  enabled  to  preserve  the  sharpness  of  their 
claws  on  the  most  flinty  path.  A  slight  inspec- 
tion of  the  fore-feet  of  the  ant-bear,  will  imme- 
diately convince  you  of  the  mistake  artists  and 
naturalists  have  fallen  into,  by  putting  his  fore- 
feet in  the  same  position  as  those  of  other  quad- 
*  rupeds  ;  for  you  will  perceive  that  the  whole 
outer  side  of  his  foot  is  not  only  deprived  of 
hair,  but  is  hard  and  callous  ;  proof  positive  of 
its  being  in  perpetual  contact  with  the  ground. 
Now,  on  the  contrary,  the  inner  side  of  the 
bottom  of  his  foot  is  soft  and  rather  hairy. 

There  is  another  singularity  in  the  anatomy  of 

Peculiarity  *  * 

in  the  ana-  ^he  ant-bear,  I  believe,  as   yet  unnoticed  in  the 

tomyofthe  » 

Ant-bear,  page  of  natural  history.  He  has  two  very  large 
glands  situated  below  the  root  of  the  tongue. 
From  these  is  emitted  a  glutinous  liquid,  with 
which  his  long  tongue  is  lubricated  when  he  puts 
it  into  the  ants'  nests.  These  glands  are  of  the 
same  substance  as  those  found  in  the  lower  jaw  of 
the  woodpecker.  The  secretion  from  them,  when 
wet,  is  very  clammy  and  adhesive,  but  on  being 
dried  it  loses  these  qualities,  and  you  can  pul- 
verize it  betwixt  your  finger  and  thumb ;  so 
that,  in  dissection,  if  any  of  it  has  got  upon 
the  fur  of  the  animal,  or  the  feathers  of  the 
bird,  allow  it  to  dry  there,  and  then  it  may  be 
removed  without  leaving  the  least  stain  behind. 
The  ant-bear  is  a  pacific  animal.  He  is  never 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  179 

the  first  to  begin  the  attack.     His  motto  may  be.    THIRD 

*  JOURNEY. 

"  Noli  me  tangere."     As  his  habits  and  his  haunts 

differ  materially  from  those  of  every  other  animal 
in  the  forest,  their  interests  never  clash,  and  thus 
he  might  live  to  a  good  old  age,  and  die  at  last 
in  peace,  were  it  not  that  his  flesh  is  good  food. 
On  this  account,  the  Indian  wages  perpetual  war 
against  him,  and  as  he  cannot  escape  by  flight, 
he  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  poisoned  arrow,  shot 
from  the  Indian's  bow  at  a  distance.  If  ever  he 
be  closely  attacked  by  dogs,  he  immediately 
throws  himself  on  his  back,  and  if  he  be  for- 
tunate enough  to  catch  hold  of  his  enemy  with 
his  tremendous  claws,  the  invader  is  sure  to  pay 
for  his  rashness  with  the  loss  of  life. 

We  will  now  take  a  view  of  the  Vampire.     As  T 

pire 

there  was  a  free  entrance  and  exit  to  the  vampire, 
in  the  loft  where  I  slept,  I  had  many  a  fine  op- 
portunity of  paying  attention  to  this  nocturnal 
surgeon.  He  does  not  always  live  on  blood. 
When  the  moon  shone  bright,  and  the  fruit  of 
the  banana-tree  was  ripe,  I  could  see  him  ap- 
proach and  eat  it.  He  would  also  bring  into  the 
loft,  from  the  forest,  a  green  round  fruit,  some- 
thing like  the  wild  guava,  and  about  the  size 
of  a  nutmeg.  There  was  something  also,  in 
the  blossom  of  the  sawarri  nut-tree,  which  was 
grateful  to  him ;  for  on  coming  up  Waratilla 
creek,  in  a  moonlight  night,  I  saw  several  vam- 
pires fluttering  round  the  top  of  the  sawarri 

N  2 


180  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


THIRD    tree,  and  every  now  and  then  the  blossoms,  which 

OTTDTWT^V  » 

they  had  broken  off,  fell  into  the  water.  They 
certainly  did  not  drop  off  naturally,  for  on  ex- 
amining several  of  them,  they  appeared  quite 
fresh  and  blooming.  So  I  concluded  the  vam- 
pires pulled  them  from  the  tree,  either  to  get  at 
the  incipient  fruit,  or  to  catch  the  insects  which 
often  take  up  their  abode  in  flowers. 

The  vampire,  in  general,  measures  about  twenty- 
six  inches  from  wing  to  wing  extended,  though 
I  once  killed  one  which  measured  thirty-two 
inches.  He  frequents  old  abandoned  houses  and 
hollow  trees ;  and  sometimes  a  cluster  of  them 
may  be  seen  in  the  forest  hanging  head  down- 
wards from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

Goldsmith  seems  to  have  been  aware  that  the 
vampire  hangs  in  clusters ;  for  in  the  "  Deserted 
Village,"  speaking  of  America,  he  says, — 

"  And  matted  woods,  where  birds  forget  to  sing, 
But  silent  bats  in  drowsy  clusters  cling:" 

The  vampire  has  a  curious  membrane,  which 
rises  from  the  nose,  and  gives  it  a  very  singular 
appearance.  It  has  been  remarked  before,  that 
there  are  two  species  of  vampire  in  Guiana,  a 
larger  and  a  smaller.  The  larger  sucks  men 
and  other  animals ;  the  smaller  seems  to  confine 
himself  chiefly  to  birds.  I  learnt  from  a  gentle- 
man, high  up  in  the  river  Demerara,  that  he 
was  completely  unsuccessful  with  his  fowls,  on 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  181 

account  of  the  small  vampire.     He  showed  me    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

some  that  had  been  sucked  the  night  before,  and 

they  were  scarcely  able  to  walk. 

Some  years  ago  I  went  to  the  river  Paumaron  Anecdote, 
with  a  Scotch  gentleman,  by  name  Tarbet.     We 
hung  our  hammocks  in  the  thatched  loft  of  a 
planter's  house.     Next  morning  I  heard  this  gen- 
tleman muttering  in  his  hammock,  and  now  and 
then  letting  fall  an  imprecation  or  two,  just  about 
the  time  he  ought  to  have  been  saying  his  morn- 
ing prayers.     "  What  is  the  matter,  Sir,"  said  I, 
softly ;     "  is  any   thing   amiss  ?"     "  What's   the 
matter  ?"   answered  he  surlily ;    "  why,  the  vam- 
pires have  been  sucking  me  to  death."     As  soon 
as  there  was  light  enough,  I  went  to  his  hammock, 
and  saw  it  much  stained  with  blood.     "  There," 
said  he,  thrusting  his  foot  out  of  the  hammock, 
"  see  how  these  infernal  imps  have  been  drawing 
my  life's  blood."     On  examining  his  foot,  I  found 
the  vampire  had  tapped  his  great  toe :  there  was 
a  wound  somewhat  less  than  that   made    by  a 
leech ;  the  blood  was  still  oosing  from  it ;  I  con- 
jectured he  might  have  lost  from  ten  to  twelve 
ounces  of  blood.     Whilst  examining  it,  I  think 
I  put  him  into  a  worse  humour  by  remarking, 
that  an  European  surgeon  would  not  have  been  so 
generous  as  to  have  blooded  him  without  making 
a  charge.     He  looked  up  in  my  face,  but  did  not 
say  a  word :  I  saw  he  was  of  opinion  that  I  had 
better  have  spared  this  piece  of  ill-timed  levity. 


182  WANDERINGS    IN 

It  was  not  the  last  punishment  of  this  good 
gentleman  in  the  river  Paumaron.  The  next 
large  red  night  he  was  doomed  to  undergo  a  kind  of  ordeal 
unknown  in  Europe.  There  is  a  species  of  large 
red  ant  in  Guiana,  sometimes  called  Ranger, 
sometimes  Coushie.  These  ants  march  in  mil- 
lions through  the  country,  in  compact  order,  like 
a  regiment  of  soldiers;  they  eat  up  every  insect 
in  their  march;  and  if  a  house  obstruct  their 
route,  they  do  not  turn  out  of  the  way,  but  go 
quite  through  it.  Though  they  sting  cruelly 
when  molested,  the  planter  is  not  sorry  to  see 
them  in  his  house ;  for  it  is  but  a  passing  visit, 
and  they  destroy  every  kind  of  insect  vermin 
that  had  taken  shelter  under  his  roof. 

Now,  in  the  British  plantations  of  Guiana,  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  there  is  always  a  little  temple 
dedicated  to  the  goddess  Cloacina.  Our  dinner 
had  chiefly  consisted  of  crabs,  dressed  in  rich  and 
different  ways.  Paumaron  is  famous  for  crabs,  and 
strangers  who  go  thither,  consider  them  the  great- 
est luxury.  The  Scotch  gentleman  made  a  very 
capital  dinner  on  crabs ;  but  this  change  of  diet  was 
productive  of  unpleasant  circumstances :  he  awoke 
in  the  night  in  that  state  in  which  Virgil  describes 
Caeleno  to  have  been,  viz.  "  feedissima  ventris  pro- 
luvies."  Up  he  got,  to  verify  the  remark, 

"  Serius  aut  citius,  sedem  properamus  ad  unam." 
Now,  unluckily  for  himself,  and  the  nocturnal 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  183 

tranquillity  of  the  planter's  house,   iust  at  that    THIRD 

1  J  J  JOURNEY. 

unfortunate  hour,  the  coushie  ants  were  passing 

across  the  seat  of  Cloacina's  temple ;  he  had 
never  dreamed  of  this ;  and  so,  turning  his  face 
to  the  door,  he  placed  himself  in  the  usual  situation 
which  the  votaries  of  the  goddess  generally  take. 
Had  a  lighted  match  dropped  upon  a  pound 
of  gunpowder,  as  he  afterwards  remarked,  it 
could  not  have  caused  a  greater  recoil.  Up  he 
jumped,  and  forced  his  way  out,  roaring  for  help 
and  for  a  light,  for  he  was  worried  alive  by  ten 
thousand  devils.  The  fact  is,  he  had  sat  down 
upon  an  intervening  body  of  coushie  ants.  Many 
of  those  which  escaped  being  crushed  to  death, 
turned  again  ;  and,  in  revenge,  stung  the  unin- 
tentional intruder  most  severely.  The  watchman 
had  fallen  asleep,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
a  light  could  be  procured,  the  fire  having  gone 
out ;  in  the  mean  time*  the  poor  gentleman  was 
suffering  an  indescribable  martyrdom,  and  would 
have  found  himself  more  at  home  in  the  Augean 
stable  than  in  the  planter's  house. 

I  had  often  wished  to  have  been  once  sucked 
by  the  vampire,  in  order  that  I  might  have  it 
in  my  power  to  say  it  had  really  happened  to  me. 
There  can  be  no  pain  in  the  operation,  for  the 
patient  is  always  asleep  when  the  vampire  is 
sucking  him ;  and  as  for  the  loss  of  a  few  ounces 
of  blood,  that  would  be  a  trifle  in  the  long  run. 
Many  a  night  have  I  slept  with  my  foot  out  of  the 


184  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    hammock  to  tempt  this  winged  surgeon,  expecting* 
that  he  would  be  there ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain  ; 


the  vampire  never  sucked  me,  and  I  could  never 
account  for   his  not   doing  so,  for  we   were   in- 
habitants of  the  same  loft  for  months  together. 
The  Arma-      The  Armadillo  is  very  common  in  these  forests ; 

dillo.  .  . 

he  burrows  in  the  sand-hills  like  a  rabbit.  As 
it  often  takes  a  considerable  time  to  dig  him  out 
of  his  hole,  it  would  be  a  long  and  laborious 
business  to  attack  each  hole  indiscriminately  with- 
out knowing  whether  the  animal  were  there  or 
not.  To  prevent  disappointment,  the  Indians 
carefully  examine  the  mouth  of  the  hole,  and  put 
a  short  stick  down  it.  Now  if,  on  introducing 
the  stick,  a  number  of  mosquitos  come  out,  the 
Indians  know  to  a  certainty  that  the  armadillo 
is  in  it :  wherever  there  are  no  mosquitos  in  the 
hole,  there  is  no  armadillo.  The  Indian  having 
satisfied  himself  that  the*  armadillo  is  there,  by 
the  mosquitos  which  come  out,  he  immediately 
cuts  a  long  and  slender  stick,  and  introduces 
it  into  the  hole :  he  carefully  observes  the  line 
the  stick  takes,  and  then  sinks  a  pit  in  the  sand 
to  catch  the  end  of  it :  this  done,  he  puts  it  farther 
into  the  hole,  and  digs  another  pit,  and  so  on, 
till  at  last  he  comes  up  with  the  armadillo,  which 
had  been  making  itself  a  passage  in  the  sand 
till  it  had  exhausted  all  its  strength  through  pure 
exertion.  I  have  been  sometimes  three  quarters 
of  a  day  in  digging  out  one  armadillo,  and  obliged 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  185 

to  sink  half  a  dozen  pits,  seven  feet  deep,  before  I 
got  up  to  it.  The  Indians  and  negroes  are  very 
fond  of  the  flesh,  but  I  considered  it  strong 
and  rank. 

On  laying  hold  of  the  armadillo  you  must  be 
cautious  not  to  come  in  contact  with  his  feet :  they 
are  armed  with  sharp  claws,  and  with  them  he 
will  inflict  a  severe  wound  in  self-defence :  when 
not  molested,  he  is  very  harmless  and  innocent; 
he  would  put  you  in  mind  of  the  hare  in  Gay's 
fables, — 

"  Whose  care  was  never  to  offend, 
And  every  creature  was  her  friend." 

The  armadillo  swims  well  in  time  of  need,  but 
does  not  go  into  the  water  by  choice.  He  is  very 
seldom  seen  abroad  during  the  day ;  and  when 
surprised,  he  is  sure  to  be  near  the  mouth  of  his 
hole.  Every  part  of  the  armadillo  is  well  pro- 
tected by  his  shell,  except  his  ears.  In  life,  this 
shell  is  very  limber,  so  that  the  animal  is  enabled 
to  go  at  full  stretch,  or  roll  himself  up  into  a  ball, 
as  occasion  may  require. 

On  inspecting  the  arrangement  of  the  shell,  it 
puts  you  very  much  in  mind  of  a  coat  of  armour  ; 
indeed  it  is  a  natural  coat  of  armour  to  the  arma- 
dillo, and  being  composed  both  of  scale  and  bone, 
it  affords  ample  security,  and  has  a  pleasing 
effect. 

Often,  when  roving  in  the  wilds,  I  would  fall  in  The  land 

Tortoiie. 

with  the  land  tortoise ;  he  too  adds  another  to 


186  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD    the  Ugf.  of  unoffending    animals  ;   he  subsists  on 

JOURNEY. 


the  fallen  fruits  of  the  forest.  When  an  enemy 
approaches  he  never  thinks  of  moving,  but  quietly 
draws  himself  under  his  shell,  and  there  awaits 
his  doom  in  patience  :  he  only  seems  to  have  two 
enemies  who  can  do  him  any  damage  ;  one  of 
these  is  the  boa  constrictor  :  this  snake.swallows 
the  tortoise  alive,  shell  and  all.  But  a  boa  large 
enough  to  do  this  is  very  scarce,  and  thus  there 
is  not  much  to  apprehend  from  that  quarter  ;  the 
other  enemy  is  man,  who  takes  up  the  tortoise, 
and  carries  him  away.  Man  also  is  scarce  in 
these  never-ending  wilds,  and  the  little  depreda- 
tions he  may  commit  upon  the  tortoise  will  be 
nothing,  or  a  mere  trifle.  The  tiger's  teeth  cannot 
penetrate  its  shell,  nor  can  a  stroke  of  his  paws 
do  it  any  damage.  It  is  of  so  compact  and  strong 
a  nature,  that  there  is  a  common  saying,  a  Lon- 
don waggon  might  roll  over  it  and  not  break  it. 

Ere  we  proceed,  let  us  take  a  retrospective 
view  of  the  five  animals  just  enumerated;  they 
are  all  quadrupeds,  and  have  some  very  particu- 
lar mark,  or  mode  of  existence,  different  from  all 
other  animals.  The  sloth  has  four  feet,  but  never 
can  use  them,  to  support  his  body  on  the  earth  ; 
they  want  soles,  which  are  a  marked  feature  in 
the  feet  of  other  animals.  The  ant-bear  has  not 
a  tooth  in  his  head,  still  he  roves  fearless  on,  in 
the  same  forests  with  the  jaguar  and  boa  con- 
strictor. The  vampire  does  not  make  use  of  his 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  187 

feet  to   walk,  but  to  stretch  a  membrane,  which    ™IRD 

Ul  1    •  •  1  JOURNEY. 

enables  mm  to  go  up  into  an  element,  where  no  ~ 
other  quadruped  is  seen.  The  armadillo  has  only 
here  arid  there  a  straggling  hair,  and  has  neither 
fur,  nor  wool,  nor  bristles,  but  in  lieu  of  them 
has  received  a  movable  shell,  on  which  are  scales 
very  much  like  those  of  fishes.  The  tortoise  is 
oviparous,  entirely  without  any  appearance  of 
hair,  and  is  obliged  to  accommodate  itself  to  a 
shell  which  is  quite  hard  and  inflexible,  and  in 
no  point  of  view  whatever,  obedient  to  the  will 
or  pleasure  of  the  bearer.  The  egg  of  the  tor- 
toise has  a  very  hard  shell,  while  that  of  the  turtle 
is  quite  soft. 

In  some  parts  of  these  forests  I  saw  the  Vanilla  The  vs- 

.  i  •         i  T  i  nilla. 

growing  luxuriantly.  It  creeps  up  the  trees  to 
the  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet.  I  found  it 
difficult  to  get  a  ripe  pod,  as  the  monkies  are  very 
fond  of  it,  and  generally  took  care  to  get  there 
before  me.  The  pod  hangs  from  the  tree  in  the 
shape  of  a  little  scabbard.  Vayna  is  the  Spanish 
for  a  scabbard,  and  Vanilla  for  a  little  scabbard. 
Hence  the  name. 

In   Mibiri  creek  there  was  a  Cayman  of  the  shoots  a 
small  species,  measuring  about  five  feet  in  length ;  Mibiri 
I  saw  it  in  the  same  place  for  months,  but  could 
never  get  a  shot  at  it ;  for  the  moment  I  thought 
I  was  sure  of  it,  it  dived  under  the  water  before 
I  could  pull  the  trigger.     At  last  I  got  an  Indian 
with  his  bow  and  arrow ;  he  stood  up  in  the  canoe 


188  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD    wjtb  j^  jjOW  ready  bent,  and  as  we  drifted  past 

JOURNEY.  * 

-  the  place,  he  sent  his  arrow  into  the  cayman^s 
eye,  and  killed  it  dead.  The  skin  of  this  little 
species  is  much  harder  and  stronger  than  that  of 
the  large  kind  ;  it  is  good  food,  and  tastes  like 
veal. 

Negro  ser-  My  friend,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  had  very  kindly 
let  me  have  one  of  his  old  negroes,  and  he  con- 
stantly attended  me  ;  his  name  was  Daddy  Quashi  ; 
he  had  a  brave  stomach  for  heterogeneous  food  ; 
it  could  digest,  and  relish  too,  caymen,  monkies, 
hawks,  and  grubs.  The  Daddy  made  three  or 
four  meals  on  this  cayman  while  it  was  not  abso- 
lutely putrid,  and  salted  the  rest.  I  could  never 
get  him  to  face  a  snake  ;  the  horror  he  betrayed 
on  seeing  one  was  beyond  description  ;  I  asked 
him  why  he  was  so  terribly  alarmed  ;  he  said  it 
was  by  seeing  so  many  dogs,  from  time  to  time, 
killed  by  them. 

species  of  Here  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  of  examining 
muigus.  several  species  of  the  Caprimulgus.  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  these  innocent  little  birds  never 
suck  the  herds  ;  for  when  they  approach  them, 
and  jump  up  at  their  udders,  it  is  to  catch  the 
flies  and  insects  there.  When  the  moon  shone 
bright,  I  would  frequently  go  and  stand  within 
three  yards  of  a  cow,  and  distinctly  see  the  capri- 
mulgus  catch  the  flies  on  its  udder.  On  looking 
for  them  in  the  forest,  during  the  day,  I  either 
found  them  on  the  ground,  or  else  invariably  sitting 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  189 

longitudinally  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  not  cross-    THIRD 

1-1  II  T  JOURNEY. 

mse,  like  all  other  birds. 


The  Wasps,  or  Maribuntas,  are  great  plagues  The  wasps, 

,1  r*  -i  •  orMaribun- 

m  these  forests,  and  require  the  naturalist  to  be  tas. 
cautious  as  he  wanders  up  and  down.  Some 
make  their  nests  pendent  from  the  branches; 
others  have  them  fixed  to  the  underside  of  a  leaf. 
Now,  in  passing  on,  if  you  happen  to  disturb  one 
of  these,  they  sally  forth  and  punish  you  severely. 
The  largest  kind  is  blue ;  it  brings  blood  where 
its  sting  enters,  and  causes  pain  and  inflamma- 
tion enough  to  create  a  fever.  The  Indians  make 
a  fire  under  the  nest,  and  after  killing,  or  driving 
away  the  old  ones,  they  roast  the  young  grubs  in 
the  comb  and  eat  them.  I  tried  them  once  by 
way  of  desert  after  dinner,  but  my  stomach  was 
offended  at  their  intrusion ;  probably  it  was  more 
the  idea  than  the  taste  that  caused  the  stomach 
to  rebel. 

Time  and  experience  have  convinced  me  that  Snakes  and 

wild  beasts. 

there  is  not  much  danger  in  roving  amongst 
snakes  and  wild  beasts,  provided  only  that  you 
have  self-command.  You  must  never  approach 
them  abruptly ;  if  so,  you  are  sure  to  pay  for  your 
rashness  ;  because  the  idea  of  self-defence  is  pre- 
dominant in  every  animal,  and  thus  the  snake,  to 
defend  himself  from  what  he  considers  an  attack 
upon  him,  makes  the  intruder  feel  the  deadly 
effect  of  his  poisonous  fangs.  The  jaguar  flies  at 
you,  and  knocks  you  senseless  with  a  stroke  of 


190  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    nis  paw .  whereas,  if  you  had  not  come  upon  him 

JOURNEY.  l 

too  suddenly,  it  is  ten  to  one  but  that  he  had 

retired,  in  lieu  of  disputing  the  path  with  you.  The 
labarri  snake  is  very  poisonous,  and  I  have  often 
approached  within  two  yards  of  him  without  fear. 
I  took  care  to  move  very  softly  and  gently  without 
moving  my  arms,  and  he  always  allowed  me  to 
have  a  fine  view  of  him,  without  showing  the 
least  inclination  to  make  a  spring  at  me.  He 
would  appear  to  keep  his  eye  fixed  on  me,  as 
though  suspicious,  but  that  was  all.  Sometimes 
I  have  taken  a  stick  ten  feet  long,  and  placed  it 
on  the  labarri's  back.  He  would  then  glide  away 
without  offering  resistance.  But  when  I  put  the 
end  of  the  stick  abruptly  to  his  head,  he  imme- 
diately opened  his  mouth,  flew  at  it,  and  bit  it. 

catches  a       One  day,  wishful  to  see  how  the  poison  comes 

live  Labarri 

snake.  out  of  the  fang  of  the  snake,  I  caught  a  labarri 
alive.  He  was  about  eight  feet  long.  I  held  him 
by  the  neck,  and  my  hand  was  so  near  his  jaw, 
that  he  had  not  room  to  move  his  head  to  bite  it. 
This  was  the  only  position  I  could  have  held  him  in 
with  safety  and  effect.  To  do  so,  it  only  required 
a  little  resolution  and  coolness.  I  then  took  a 
small  piece  of  stick  in  the  other  hand,  and  pressed 
it  against  the  fang,  which  is  invariably  in  the 
upper  jaw.  Towards  the  point  of  the  fang,  there 
is  a  little  oblong  aperture  on  the  convex  side  of  it. 
Through  this,  there  is  a  communication  down  the 
fang  to  the  root,  at  which  lies  a  little  bag  contain- 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  191 

ing  the  poison.  Now,  when  the  point  of  the  fang  THIRD 
is  pressed,  the  root  of  the  fang  also  presses  against  — 
the  bag,  and  sends  up  a  portion  of  the  poison 
therein  contained.  Thus,  when  I  applied  a  piece 
of  stick  to  the  point  of  the  fang,  there  came  out 
of  the  hole  a  liquor  thick  and  yellow,  like  strong 
camomile  tea.  This  was  the  poison,  which  is  so 
dreadful  in  its  effects,  as  to  render  the  labarri 
snake  one  of  the  most  poisonous  in  the  forests  of 
Guiana.  I  once  caught  a  fine  labarri,  and  made 
it  bite  itself.  I  forced  the  poisonous  fang  into 
its  belly.  In  a  few  minutes  I  thought  it  was 
going  to  die,  for  it  appeared  dull  and  heavy. 
However,  in  half  an  hour's  time,  he  was  as  brisk 
and  vigorous  as  ever,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
day  showed  no  symptoms  of  being  affected.  Is 
then  the  life  of  the  snake  proof  against  its  -own 
poison  ?  This  subject  is  not  unworthy  of  the 
consideration  of  the  naturalist. 

In  Guiana  there  is  a  little  insect  in  the  grass,  The  Bete- 
and  on  the  shrubs,  which  the  French  call  Bete-  r° 
rouge.  It  is  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  colour,  and  so 
minute,  that  you  must  bring  your  eye  close  to  it 
before  you  can  perceive  it.  It  is  most  numerous 
in  the  rainy  season.  Its  bite  causes  an  intolerable 
itching.  The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  it,  is  to  rub 
the  part  affected  with  oil  or  rum.  You  must  be 
careful  not  to  scratch  it.  If  you  do  so,  and  break 
the  skin,  you  expose  yourself  to  a  sore.  The  first 
year  I  was  in  Guiana,  the  bete-rouge,  and  my 


192  WANDERINGS   IN 

THIRD    own  Want  of  knowledge,  and,  I  may  add,  the  little 

JOURNEY. 

-  attention  I  paid  to  it,  created  an  ulcer  above  the 
ancle,  which  annoyed  me  for  six  months,  and  if 
I  hobbled  out  into  the  grass,  a  number  of  bete- 
rouge  would  settle  on  the  edges  of  the  sore,  and 
increase  the  inflammation. 
The  Still  more  inconvenient,  painful,  and  annoying- 

Chegoe.  p  *  J 

is  another  little  pest,  called  the  Chegoe.  It  looks 
exactly  like  a  very  small  flea,  and  a  stranger  would 
take  it  for  one.  However,  in  about  four  and 
twenty  hours,  he  would  have  several  broad  hints 
that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  his  ideas  of  the 
animal.  It  attacks  different  parts  of  the  body, 
but  chiefly  the  feet,  betwixt  the  toe  nails  and  the 
flesh.  There  it  buries  itself,  and  at  first  causes 
an  itching  not  unpleasant.  In  a  day  or  so,  after 
examining  the  part,  you  perceive  a  place  about 
the  size  of  a  pea,  somewhat  discoloured,  rather  of 
a  blue  appearance.  Sometimes  it  happens  that 
the  itching  is  so  trivial,  you  are  not  aware  that 
the  miner  is  at  work.  Time,  they  say,  makes" 
great  discoveries.  The  discoloured  part  turns 
out  to  be  the  nest  of  the  chegoe,  containing  hun- 
dreds of  eggs,  which,  if  allowed  to  hatch  there, 
the  young  ones  will  soon  begin  to  form  other 
nests,  and  in  time  cause  a  spreading  ulcer.  As 
soon  as  you  perceive  that  you  have  got  the  chegoe 
in  your  flesh,  you  must  take  a  needle,  or  a  sharp 
pointed  knife,  and  take  it  out.  If  the  nest  be 
formed,  great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  break  it, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  193 

otherwise  some  of  the  eggs  remain  in  the  flesh.    T1IIRD 

JOURNEY. 

and  then  you  will  soon  be  annoyed  with  more  — 
chegoes.  After  removing  the  nest,  it  is  well  to 
drop  spirit  of  turpentine  into  the  hole ;  that  will 
most  effectually  destroy  any  chegoe  that  may  be 
lurking  there.  Sometimes  I  have  taken  four  nests 
out  of  my  feet  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

Every  evening,  before  sun  down,  it  was  part  of 
my  toilette  to  examine  my  feet,  and  see  that  they 
were  clear  of  chegoes.  Now  and  then  a  nest 
would  escape  the  scrutiny,  and  then  I  had  to 
smart  for  it  a  day  or  two  after.  A  chegoe  once 
lit  upon  the  back  of  my  hand  ;  wishful  to  see  how 
he  worked,  I  allowed  him  to  take  possession.  He 
immediately  set  to  work,  head  foremost,  and  in 
about  half  an  hour  he  had  completely  buried  him- 
self in  the  skin.  I  then  let  him  feel  the  point  of 
my  knife,  and  exterminated  him. 

More  than  once,  after  sitting  down  upon  a  Ticki. 
rotten  stump,  I  have  found  myself  covered  with 
Ticks.  There  is  a  short  and  easy  way  to  get  quit 
of  these  unwelcome  adherents.  Make  a  large  fire 
and  stand  close  to  it,  and  if  you  be  covered  with 
ticks,  they  will  all  fall  off. 

Let  us  now  forget  for  awhile  the  quadrupeds, 
serpents,  and  insects,  and  take  a  transitory  view 
of  the  native  Indians  of  these  forests. 

There   are  five  principal  nations  or  tribes   ofP"n«pai 

nations,  or 

Indians    in    ci-devant    Dutch  Guiana,  commonly  tribes  of 

Indians. 

known  by  the  name  of  Warow,  Arowack,  Acoway, 

o 


194  WANDERINGS  IN 

THIRD    Carib,  and  Macoushi.     They  live  in  small  ham- 

JOURNEY.  ^  * 

lets,  which  consist  of  a  few  huts,  never  exceeding 
twelve  in  number.  These  huts  are  always  in  the 
forest,  near  a  river  or  some  creek.  They  are  open 
on  all  sides,  (except  those  of  the  Macoushi,)  and 
»  covered  with  a  species  of  palm  leaf. 
Their  ham-  Their  principal  furniture  is  the  hammock.  It 
serves  them  both  for  chair  and  bed.  It  is  com- 
monly made  of  cotton;  though  those  of  the  Warows 
are  formed  from  the  seta  tree.  At  night  they 
always  make  a  fire  close  to  it.  The  heat  keeps 
them  warm,  and  the  smoke  drives  away  the 
mosquitos  and  sand-flies.  You  sometimes  find  a 
table  in  the  hut;  but  it  was  not  made  by  the 
Indians,  but  by  some  negro,  or  mulatto  car- 
penter. 

Occupa-  They  cut  down  about  an  acre  or  two  of  the 
trees  which  surround  the  huts,  and  there  plant 
pepper,  papaws,  sweet  and  bitter  cassava,  plan- 
tains, sweet  potatoes,  yams,  pine-apples,  and  silk- 
grass.  Besides  these,  they  generally  have  a  few 
acres  in  some  fertile  part  of  the  forest  for  their 
cassava,  which  is  as  bread  to  them.  They  make 
earthen  pots  to  boil  their  provisions  in ;  and  they 
get  from  the  white  men  flat  circular  plates  of 
iron,  on  which  they  bake  their  cassava.  They 
have  to  grate  the  cassava  before  it  is  pressed, 
preparatory  to  baking;  and  those  Indians  who 
are  too  far  in  the  wilds  to  procure  graters  from 
the  white  men,  make  use  of  a  flat  piece  of  wood, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  11)3 


studded  with  sharp  stones.     They  have  no  cows,    THIRD 

,  JOURNEY. 

horses,  mules,  goats,  sheep,  or  asses.  The  men 
hunt  and  fish,  and  the  women  work  in  the 
provision  ground,  and  cook  their  victuals. 

In  each  hamlet  there  is  the  trunk  of  a  large  Fermented 
tree,  hollowed  out  like  a  trough.     In  this,  from  hquo' 
their  cassava,  they  make  an  abominable  ill-tasted 
and  sour  kind  of  fermented  liquor,  called  piwarri. 
They  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  never  fail  to  get 
drunk    after   every  brewing.      The  frequency  of 
the  brewing  depends  upon   the   superabundance 
of  cassava. 

Both  men  and  women  go  without  clothes.  The  Their  ha- 
men  have  a  cotton  wrapper,  and  the  women  a 
bead-ornamented  square  piece  of  cotton,  about 
the  size  of  your  hand,  for  the  fig-leaf.  Those 
far  away  in  the  interior,  use  the  bark  of  a  tree 
for  this  purpose.  They  are  a  very  clean  people, 
and  wash  in  the  river,  or  creek,  at  least  twice 
every  day.  They  paint  themselves  with  the 
roucou,  sweetly  perfumed  with  hayawa  or  ac- 
caiari.  Their  hair  is  black  and  lank,  and  never 
curled.  The  women  braid  it  up  fancifully,  some- 
thing in  the  shape  of  Diana's  head-dress  in 
ancient  pictures.  They  have  very  few  diseases. 
Old  age  and  pulmonary  complaints  seem  to  be 
the  chief  agents  for  removing  them  to  another 
world.  The  pulmonary  complaints  are  generally 
brought  on  by  a  severe  cold,  which  they  do  not 
know  how  to  arrest  in  its  progress,  by  the  use  of 

o  2 


196  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


customs 
and  cer 
monies. 


THIRD     the  lancet.     I  never  saw  an  idiot  amongst  them. 

if\wm  iwc1  v 

nor  could  I  perceive  any  that  were  deformed  from 
their  birth.     Their  women  never  perish  in  child- 
bed,  owing,   no    doubt,  to    their   never   wearing 
stays. 
Religious        They  have  no  public  religious  ceremony.    They 

customs  111  •          i     •  i 

and  cere-  acknowledge  two  superior  beings, — a  good  one, 
and  a  bad  one.  They  pray  to  the  latter  not  to 
hurt  them,  and  they  are  of  opinion  that  the  former 
is  too  good  to  do  them  an  injury.  I  suspect,  if 
the  truth  were  known,  the  individuals  of  the 
village  never  offer  up  a  single  prayer  or  ejacula- 
tion. They  have  a  kind  of  a  priest  called  a  Pee- 
ay-man,  who  is  an  enchanter.  He  finds  out  things 
lost.  He  mutters  prayers  to  the  evil  spirit  over 
them  and  their  children  when  they  are  sick.  If  a 
fever  be  in  the  village,  the  Pee-ay-man  goes  about 
all  night  long,  howling,  and  making  dreadful 
noises,  and  begs  the  bad  spirit  to  depart.  But  he 
has  very  seldom  to  perform  this  part  of  his  duty, 
as  fevers  seldom  visit  the  Indian  hamlets.  How- 
ever, when  a  fever  does  come,  and  his  incantations 
are  of  no  avail,  which  I  imagine  is  most  commonly 
the  case,  they  abandon  the  place  for  ever,  and 
make  a  new  settlement  elsewhere.  They  consider 
the  owl  and  the  goatsucker  as  familiars  of  the 
evil  spirit,  and  never  destroy  them. 

I  could  find  no  monuments  or  marks  of  an- 
tiquity amongst  these  Indians;  so  that  after 
penetrating  to  the  Rio  Branco,  from  the  shores 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  197 

of  the  Western  Ocean,  had  any  body  questioned    THIRD 

J  '  JOURNEY. 

me  on  this  subject,  I  should  have  answered,  I  - 
have  seen  nothing  amongst  these  Indians  which 
tells  me  that  they  have  existed  here  for  a  century ; 
though,  for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary,  they 
may  have  been  here  before  the  Redemption,  but 
their  total  want  of  civilization  has  assimilated 
them  to  the  forests  in  which  they  wander.  Thus, 
an  aged  tree  falls  and  moulders  into  dust,  and 
you  cannot  tell  what  was  its  appearance,  its 
beauties,  or  its  diseases  amongst  the  neighbour- 
ing trees ;  another  has  shot  up  in  its  place,  and 
after  nature  has  had  her  course,  it  will  make  way 
for  a  successor  in  its  turn.  So  it  is  with  the 
Indian  of  Guiana ;  he  is  now  laid  low  in  the 
dust ;  he  has  left  no  record  behind  him,  either 
on  parchment,  or  on  a  stone,  or  in  earthenware, 
to  say  what  he  has  done.  Perhaps  the  place 
where  his  buried  ruins  lie  was  unhealthy,  and  the 
survivors  have  left  it  long  ago,  and  gone  far  away 
into  the  wilds.  All  that  you  can  say  is,  the  trees 
where  I  stand  appear  lower  and  smaller  than  the 
rest,  and  from  this  I  conjecture,  that  some  Indians 
may  have  had  a  settlement  here  formerly.  Were 
I  by  chance  to  meet  the  son  of  the  father  who 
moulders  here,  he  could  tell  me  that  his  father 
was  famous  for  slaying  tigers  and  serpents  and 
caymen,  and  noted  in  the  chase  of  the  tapir  and 
wild  boar,  but  that  he  remembers  little  or  nothing 
of  his  grandfather. 


198  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


They  are  very  jealous  of  their  liberty,  and  much 
attached  to  their  own  mode  of  living.  Though 
those  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  European  set- 
tlements have  constant  communication  with  the 
whites,  they  have  no  inclination  to  become  civi- 
lized. Some  Indians  who  have  accompanied 
white  men  to  Europe,  on  returning  to  their  own 
land,  have  thrown  off  their  clothes,  and  gone 
back  into  the  forests. 

In  George-town,  the  capital  of  Demerara,  there 
is  a  large  shed,  open  on  all  sides,  built  for  them 
by  order  of  government.  Hither  the  Indians 
come  with  monkies,  parrots,  bows  and  arrows,  and 
pegalls.  They  sell  these  to  the  white  men  for 
money,  and  too  often  purchase  rum  with  it,  to 
which  they  are  wonderfully  addicted. 

Government  allows  them  annual  presents  in 
order  to  have  their  services,  when  the  colony 
deems  it  necessary  to  scour  the  forests  in  quest 
of  runaway  negroes.  Formerly  these  expedi- 
tions were  headed  by  Charles  Edmonstone,  Esq. 
now  of  Cardross-park,  near  Dumbarton.  This 
brave  colonist  never  returned  from  the  woods 
without  being  victorious.  Once,  in  an  attack 
upon  the  rebel  negroes'  camp,  he  led  the  way, 
and  received  two  balls  in  his  body ;  at  the  same 
moment  that  he  was  wounded,  two  of  his  Indians 
fell  dead  by  his  side ;  he  recovered  after  his  life 
was  despaired  of,  but  the  balls  could  never  be 
extracted. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  199 

Since  the  above  appeared  in  print,  I  have  had 
the  account  of  this  engagement  with  the  negroes  - 
in  the  forest,  from  Mr.  Edmonstone's  own  mouth. 

He  received  four  slugs  in  his  body,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  sequel. 

The  plantations  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo 
are  bounded  by  an  almost  interminable  extent  of 
forest.  Hither  the  runaway  negroes  repair,  and 
form  settlements,  from  whence  they  issue  to  annoy 
the  colonists,  as  occasion  may  offer. 

In  1801,  the  runaway  slaves  had  increased  to  an 
alarming  extent.  The  Governor  gave  orders,  that 
an  expedition  should  be  immediately  organized* 
and  proceed  to  the  woods,  under  the  command  of 
Charles  Edmonstone,  Esq.  General  Hislop  sent 
him  a  corporal,  a  sergeant,  and  eleven  men,  and 
he  was  joined  by  a  part  of  the  colonial  militia, 
and  by  sixty  Indians. 

With  this  force  Mr.  Edmonstone  entered  the 
forest,  and  proceeded  in  a  direction  towards 
Mahaica. 

He  marched  for  eight  days  through  swamps, 
and  over  places  obstructed  by  fallen  trees  and  the 
bush-rope;  tormented  by  myriads  of  mosquitos, 
and  ever  in  fear  of  treading  on  the  poisonous 
snakes,  which  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from 
the  fallen  leaves. 

At  last  he  reached  a  wooded  sand-hill,  where 
the  Maroons  had  intrenched  themselves  in  great 
force.  Not  expecting  to  come  so  soon  upon  them, 


200  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    Mr.  Edmonstone,  his   faithful   man   Coffee,   and 

two  Indian  chiefs,  found  themselves  considerably 

a-head  of  their  own  party.  As  yet,  they  were 
unperceived  by  the  enemy,  but,  unfortunately,  one 
of  the  Indian  chiefs  fired  a  random  shot  at  a 
distant  Maroon.  Immediately  the  whole  negro 
camp  turned  out,  and  formed  themselves  in  a 
crescent,  in  front  of  Mr.  Edmonstone.  Their 
chief  was  an  uncommonly  fine  negro,  above  six 
feet  in  height ;  and  his  head-dress  was  that  of  an 
African  warrior,  ornamented  with  a  profusion  of 
small  shells.  He  advanced  undauntedly  with  his 
gun  in  his  hand,  and,  in  insulting  language,  called 
out  to  Mr.  Edmonstone  to  come  on  and  fight  him. 

Mr.  Edmonstone  approached  him  slowly,  in 
order  to  give  his  own  men  time  to  come  up ;  but 
they  were  yet  too  far  off  for  him  to  profit  by 
this  manoeuvre.  Coffee,  who  carried  his  master's 
gun,  now  stepped  up  behind  him,  and  put  the  gun 
into  his  hand,  which  Mr.  Edmonstone  received^ 
without  advancing  it  to  his  shoulder. 

He  was  now  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Maroon 
chief,  who  seemed  to  betray  some  symptoms  of 
uncertainty ;  for  instead  of  firing  directly  at  Mr. 
Edmonstone,  he  took  a  step  sideways,  and  rested 
his  gun  against  a  tree ;  no  doubt  with  the  inten- 
tion of  taking  a  surer  aim.  Mr.  Edmonstone,  on 
perceiving  this,  immediately  cocked  his  gun,  and 
fired  it  off,  still  holding  it  in  the  position  in  which 
he  had  received  it  from  Coffee. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  201 


JOURNEY. 


The   whole  of  the  contents  entered  the  negro's    THIRD 

O  Jl)1    ItM    V 

body,  and  he  dropped  dead  on  his  face. 

The  negroes,  who  had  formed  in  a  crescent,  now 
in  their  turn  fired  a  volley,  which  brought  Mr. 
Edmonstone  and  his  two  Indian  chiefs  to  the 
ground.  The  Maroons  did  not  stand  to  reload* 
but  on  Mr.  Edmonstone's  party  coming  up,  they 
fled  precipitately  into  the  surrounding  forest. 

Four  slugs  had  entered  Mr.  Edmonstone's  body. 
After  coming  to  himself,  on  looking  around,  he 
saw  one  of  the  fallen  Indian  chiefs  bleeding  by 
his  side.  He  accosted  him  by  name,  and  said  he 
hoped  he  was  not  much  hurt.  The  dying  Indian 
had  just  strength  enough  to  answer,  "  Oh  no," — 
and  then  expired.  The  other  chief  was  lying  quite 
dead.  He  must  have  received  his  mortal  wound* 
just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  cocking  his  gun  to  fire 
on  the  negroes ;  for  it  appeared  that  the  ball  which 
gave  him  his  death  wound,  had  carried  off  the  first 
joint  of  his  thumb,  and  passed  through  his  fore- 
head! By  this  time  his  wife,  who  had  accompanied 
the  expedition,  came  up.  She  was  a  fine  young 
woman,  and  had  her  long  black  hair  fancifully 
braided  in  a  knot  on  the  top  of  her  head,  fastened 
with  a  silver  ornament.  She  unloosed  it,  and, 
falling  on  her  husband's  body,  covered  it  with  her 
hair,  bewailing  his  untimely  end  with  the  most 
heart-rending  cries. 

The  blood  was  now  running  out  of  Mr.  Edmon- 
stone's shoes.  On  being  raised  up,  he  ordered  his 


202  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD  men  to  pursue  the  flying  Maroons,  requesting  at 
-  the  same  time  that  he  might  be  left  where  he  had 
fallen,  as  he  felt  that  he  was  mortally  wounded. 
They  gently  placed  him  on  the  ground,  and  after 
the  pursuit  of  the  Maroons  had  ended,  the  cor- 
poral and  sergeant  returned  to  their  commander, 
and  formed  their  men.  On  his  asking  what  this 
meant,  the  sergeant  replied,  "  I  had  the  General's 
orders,  on  setting  out  from  town,  not  to  leave 
you  in  the  forest,  happen  what  might."  By  slow 
and  careful  marches,  as  much  as  the  obstructions 
in  the  woods  would  admit  of,  the  party  reached 
Plantation  Alliance,  on  the  bank  of  the  Demerara, 
and  from  thence  it  crossed  the  river  to  Plantation 
Vredestein. 

The  news  of  the  rencounter  had  been  spread 
far  and  wide  by  the  Indians,  and  had  already 
reached  town.  The  General,  Captains  Macrai 
and  Johnstone,  and  Doctor  Dunkin,  proceeded  to 
Vredestein.  On  examining  Mr.  Edmonstone's 
wounds,  four  slugs  were  found  to  have  entered 
the  body;  one  was  extracted,  the  rest  remained 
there  till  the  year  1824,  when  another  was  cut 
out  by  a  professional  gentleman  of  Port  Glasgow. 
The  other  two  still  remain  in  the  body  ;  and  it  is 
supposed  that  either  one  or  both  have  touched 
a  nerve,  as  they  cause  almost  continual  pain. 
Mr.  Edmonstone  has  commanded  fifteen  different 
expeditions  in  the  forest  in  quest  of  the  Maroons. 
The  Colonial  Government  has  requited  his  ser- 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  203 

vices,  by  freeing  his  property  from  all  taxes,  and    THIUD 

.  .       '  '  JOURNEY. 

presenting  him  a  handsome  sword,  and  a  silver  - 
urn,  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Presented  to  CHARLES  EDMONSTONK,  Esq.  by  the  Go- 
vernor and  Court  of  Policy  of  the  Colony  of  Demerara,  as  a 
token  of  their  esteem,  and  the  deep  sense  they  entertain  of 
the  very  great  activity  and  spirit,  manifested  by  him,  on 
various  occasions,  in  his  successful  exertions  for  the  internal 
security  of  the  Colony. — January  1st,  1809." 

I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  single  Indian  in  General 

•  7  T\         i       n     •  t  •         remarks. 

cidevant  Dutch  Guiana  who  can  read  or  write, 
nor  am  I  aware  that  any  white  man  has  reduced 
their  language  to  the  rules  of  grammar ;  some 
may  have  made  a  short  manuscript  vocabulary  of 
the  few  necessary  words,  but  that  is  all.  Here 
and  there  a  white  man,  and  some  few  people  of 
colour,  talk  the  language  well.  The  temper  of  the 
Indian  of  Guiana  is  mild  and  gentle,  and  he  is 
very  fond  of  his  children. 

Some  ignorant  travellers  and  colonists  call  these 
Indians  a  lazy  race.  Man  in  general  will  not  be 
active  without  an  object.  Now  when  the  Indian 
has  caught  plenty  of  fish,  and  killed  game  enough 
to  last  liim  for  a  week,  what  need  has  he  to 
range  the  forest  ?  He  has  no  idea  of  making 
pleasure-grounds.  Money  is  of  no  use  to  him, 
for  in  these  wilds  there  are  no  markets  for  him 
to  frequent,  nor  milliners'  shops  for  his  wife  and 
daughters ;  he  has  no  taxes  to  pay,  no  highways 
to  keep  up,  no  poor  to  maintain,  nor  army  nor 


204  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


navy  to  supply ;  he  lies  in  his  hammock  both  night 
and  day,  (for  he  has  no  chair  or  bed,  neither  does  he 
want  them,)  and  in  it  he  forms  his  bow,  and  makes 
his  arrows,  and  repairs  his  fishing  tackle.  But  as 
soon  as  he  has  consumed  his  provisions,  he  then 
rouses  himself,  and,  like  the  lion,  scours  the  forest 
in  quest  of  food.  He  plunges  into  the  river  after  the 
deer  and  tapir,  and  swims  across  it;  passes  through 
swamps  and  quagmires,  and  never  fails  to  obtain 
a  sufficient  supply  of  food.  Should  the  approach 
of  night  stop  his  career,  while  he  is  hunting  the 
wild  boar,  he  stops  for  the  night,  and  continues 
the  chase  the-  next  morning.  In  my  way  through 
the  wilds  to  the  Portuguese  frontier,  I  had  a  proof 
of  this  :  we  were  eight  in  number,  six  Indians* 
a  negro,  and  myself.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  we  observed  the  feet-mark  of  the  wild 
boars ;  we  judged  by  the  freshness  of  the  marks 
that  they  had  passed  that  way  early  the\  same 
morning.  As  we  were  not  gifted,  like  the  hound, 
with  scent,  and  as  we  had  no  dog  with  us,  we 
followed  their  track  by  the  eye.  The  Indian  after 
game  is  as  sure  with  his  eye  as  the  dog  is  with  his 
nose.  We  followed  the  herd  till  three  in  the 
afternoon,  then  gave  up  the  chase  for  the  present ; 
made  our  fires  close  to  a  creek  where  there  was 
plenty  of  fish,  and  then  arranged  the  hammocks. 
In  an  hour  the  Indians  shot  more  fish  with  their 
arrows  than  we  could  consume.  The  night  was 
beautifully  serene  and  clear,  and  the  moon  shone 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  205 

as  bright  as  day.     Next  morn  we  rose  at  dawn,    THIED 

^  JOURNEY. 

got  breakfast,  packed  up,  each  took  his  burden,  

and  then  we  put  ourselves  on  the  track  of  the 
wild  boars,  which  we  had  been  following  the  day 
before.  We  supposed  that  they,  too,  would  sleep 
that  night  in  the  forest,  as  we  had  done  ;  and 
thus  the  delay  on  our  part  would  be  no  disadvan- 
tage to  us.  This  was  just  the  case,  for  about 
nine  o'clock  their  feet-mark  became  fresher  and 
fresher :  we  now  doubled  our  pace,  but  did  not 
give  mouth  like  hounds.  We  pushed  on  in  silence, 
and  soon  came  up  with  them ;  there  were  above 
one  hundred  of  them  ;  we  killed  six,  and  the  rest 
took  off  in  different  directions.  But  to  the  point. 
Amongst  us  the  needy  man  works  from  light 
to  dark  for  a  maintenance.  Should  this  man 
chance  to  acquire  a  fortune,  he  soon  changes  his 
habits.  No  longer  under  "  strong  necessity's 
supreme  command,"  he  contrives  to  get  out  of 
bed  betwixt  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning.  His 
servant  helps  him  to  dress,  he  walks  on  a  soft 
carpet  to  his  breakfast  table,  his  wife  pours  out 
his  tea,  and  his  servant  hands  him  his  toast.  After 
breakfast,  the  doctor  advises  a  little  gentle  exer- 
cise in  the  carriage  for  an  hour  or  so.  At  dinner- 
time he  sits  down  to  a  table  groaning  beneath  the 
weight  of  heterogeneous  luxury  :  there  he  rests 
upon  a  chair  for  three  or  four  hours,  eats,  drinks, 
and  talks  (often  unmeaningly)  till  tea  is  an- 
nounced. He  proceeds  slowly  to  the  drawing- 


206  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD     room,  and  there  spends  best  part  of  his  time  in  sit- 

JOURNEY. 

ting,  till  his  wife  tempts  him  with  something  warm 
for  supper.  After  supper,  he  still  remains  on  his 
chair  at  rest,  till  he  retires  to  rest  for  the  night. 
He  mounts  leisurely  up  stairs  upon  a  carpet,  and 
enters  his  bed-room :  there,  one  would  hope,  that 
at  least  he  mutters  a  prayer  or  two,  though 
perhaps  not  on  bended  knee  :  he  then  lets  himself 
drop  into  a  soft  and  downy  bed,  over  which 
has  just  passed  the  comely  Jenny's  warming-pan. 
Now,  could  the  Indian  in  his  turn  see  this,  he 
would  call  the  white  men  a  lazy,  indolent  set. 

Perhaps  then,  upon  due  reflection,  you  would 
draw  this  conclusion ;  that  men  will  always  be 
indolent,  where  there  is  no  object  to  rouse  them. 

As  the  Indian  of  Guiana  has  no  idea  whatever 

of  communicating   his  intentions  by  writing,  he 

has   fallen   upon   a  plan   of  communication  sure 

Indian  me-  and  simple.     When  two   or  three   families   have 

thodof  .r 

communi-  determined  to  come  down  the  river  and  pay  you 
a  visit,  they  send  an  Indian  beforehand  with  a 
string  of  beads.  You  take  one  bead  off  every 
day;  and  on  the  day  that  the  string  is  beadless, 
they  arrive  at  your  house. 

In  finding  their  way  through  these  pathless 
wilds,  the  sun  is  to  them  what  Ariadne's  clue  was 
to  Theseus.  When  he  is  on  the  meridian,  they 
generally  sit  down,  and  rove  onwards  again  as 
soon  as  he  has  sufficiently  declined  to  the  west ; 
they  require  no  other  compass.  When  in  chase, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  '207 

they  break  a  twicr  on  the  bushes  as  they  pass  by    THIRD 

J  J     I  J      JOURNEY. 

every  three  or  four  hundred  paces,  and  this  often  - 
prevents   them   from  losing  their  way   on   their 
return. 

You  will  not  be  long  in  the  forests  of  Guiana, 
before  you  perceive  how  very  thinly  they  are 
inhabited.  You  may  wander  for  a  week  together 
without  seeing  a  hut.  The  wild  beasts,  snakes, 
the  swamps,  the  trees,  the  uncurbed  luxuriance 
of  every  thing  around  you,  conspire  to  inform  you 
that  man  has  no  habitation  here  —man  has  seldom 
passed  this  way. 

Let  us  now  return  to  natural  history.  There  was 
a  person  making  shingles,  with  twenty  or  thirty 
negroes,  not  far  from  Mibiri-hill.  I  had  offered 
a  reward  to  any  of  them  who  would  find  a  good- 
sized  snake  in  the  forest,  and  come  and  let  me 
know  where  it  was.  Often  had  these  negroes 
looked  for  a  large  snake,  and  as  often  been  dis- 
appointed. 

One  Sunday  morning  I  met  one  of  them  in  the 
forest,  and  asked  him  which  way  he  was  going : 
he  said  he  was  going  towards  Warratilla  creek  to 
hunt  an  armadillo ;  and  he  had  his  little  dog 
with  him.  On  coming  back,  about  noon,  the  dog 
began  to  bark  at  the  root  of  a  large  tree,  which 
had  been  upset  by  the  whirlwind,  and  was  lying 
there  in  a  gradual  state  of  decay.  The  negro  said, 
he  thought  his  dog  was  barking  at  an  acouri,  which 
had  probably  taken  refuge  under  the  tree,  and  he 


208  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    went  up  with  an  intention  to  kill  it ;  he  there  saw 

JOURNEY. 

a  snake,  and  hastened  back  to  inform  me  of  it. 

Goes  in  The  sun  had  just  passed  the  meridian  in  a 
snake.  cloudless  sky ;  there  was  scarcely  a  bird  to  be  seen, 
for  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the  forest,  as  though 
overcome  by  heat,  had  retired  to  the  thickest 
shade  :  all  would  have  been  like  midnight  silence, 
were  it  not  for  the  shrill  voice  of  the  pi-pi-yo, 
every  now  and  then  resounded  from  a  distant 
tree.  I  was  sitting  with  a  little  Horace  in  my 
hand,  on  what  had  once  been  the  steps  which 
formerly  led  up  to  the  now  mouldering  and  dis- 
mantled building.  The  negro  and  his  little  dog 
came  down  the  hill  in  haste,  and  I  was  soon 
informed  that  a  snake  had  been  discovered ;  but 
it  was  a  young  one,  called  the  Bush-master,  a  rare 
and  poisonous  snake. 

I  instantly  rose  up,  and  laying  hold  of  the  eight- 
foot  lance,  which  was  close  by  me,  "  Well  then, 
Daddy,"  said  I,  "  we'll  go  and  have  a  look  at  the 
snake."  I  was  barefoot,  with  an  old  hat,  and 
check  shirt,  and  trowsers  on,  and  a  pair  of  braces 
to  keep  them  up.  The  negro  had  his  cutlass,  and 
as  we  ascended  the  hill,  another  negro,  armed 
with  a  cutlass,  joined  us,  judging,  from  our  pace, 
that  there  was  something  to  do.  The  little  dog 
came  along  with  us,  and  when  we  had  got  about 
half  a  mile  in  the  forest,  the  negro  stopped,  and 
pointed  to  the  fallen  tree  :  all  was  still  and  silent  : 
I  told  the  negroes  not  to  stir  from  the  place 


secures  an 
enormous 
Coulacanarm 
snake. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  209 

where  they  were,  and  keep  the  little  doff  in,  and     ™™ 

*l>     t.    T  1J  •  -I  JOURNEY. 

that  I  would  go  m  and  reconnoitre. 

I  advanced  up  to  the  place  slow  and  cautious.  Finds  and 
The  snake  was  well  concealed,  but  at  last  I  made 
him  out;  it  was  a  Coulacanara,  not  poisonous, 
but  large  enough  to  have  crushed  any  of  us  to 
death.  On  measuring  him  afterwards,  he  was 
something  more  than  fourteen  feet  long.  This 
species  of  snake  is  very  rare,  and  much  thicker, 
in  proportion  to  his  length,  than  any  other  snake 
in  the  forest.  A  Coulacanara  of  fourteen  feet 
in  length  is  as  thick  as  a  common  Boa  of  twenty- 
four.  After  skinning  this  snake  I  could  easily 
get  my  head  into  his  mouth,  as  the  singular 
formation  of  the  jaws  admits  of  wonderful  ex- 
tension. 

A  Dutch  friend  of  mine,  by  name  Brouwer,  killed 
a  boa,  twenty-two  feet  long,  with  a  pair  of  stag's 
horns  in  his  mouth :  he  had  swallowed  the  stag, 
but  could  not  get  the  horns  down ;  so  he  had 
to  wait  in  patience  with  that  uncomfortable 
mouthful  till  his  stomach  digested  the  body,  and 
then  the  horns  would  drop  out.  In  this  plight 
the  Dutchman  found  him  as  he  was  going  in  his 
canoe  up  the  river,  and  sent  a  ball  through 
his  head. 

On  ascertaining  the  size  of  the  serpent  which 
the  negro  had  just  found,  I  retired  slowly  the 
way  I  came,  and  promised  four  dollars  to  the 
negro  who  had  shown  it  to  me,  and  one  to  the 

p 


210  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNET. 


THIRD     Other  who  had  joined  us.     Aware  that  the  day 

niiRWT  *>  • 

was  on  the  decline,  and  that  the  approach  of 
night  would  be  detrimental  to  the  dissection,  a 
thought  struck  me  that  I  could  take  him  alive. 
I  imagined  if  I  could  strike  him  with  the  lance 
behind  the  head,  and  pin  him  to  the  ground, 
I  might  succeed  in  capturing  him.  When  I  told 
this  to  the  negroes,  they  begged  and  entreated 
me  to  let  them  go  for  a  gun,  and  bring  more 
force,  as  they  were  sure  the  snake  would  kill 
some  of  us. 

I  had  been  at  the  siege  of  Troy  for  nine  years, 
and  it  would  not  do  now  to  carry  back  to  Greece, 
"  nil  decimo  nisi  dedecus  anno."  I  mean,  I  had 
been  in  search  of  a  large  serpent  for  years,  and 
now  having  come  up  with  one,  it  did  not  become 
me  to  turn  soft.  So,  taking  a  cutlass  from  one 
of  the  negroes,  and  then  ranging  both  the  sable 
slaves  behind  me,  I  told  them  to  follow  me, 
and  that  I  would  cut  them  down  if  they  offered 
to  fly.  I  smiled  as  I  said  this,  but  they  shook 
their  heads  in  silence,  and  seemed  to  have  but 
a  bad  heart  of  it. 

When  we  got  up  to  the  place,  the  serpent 
had  not  stirred,  but  I  could  see  nothing  of  his 
head,  and  I  judged  by  the  folds  of  his  body  that 
it  must  be  at  the  farthest  side  of  his  den.  A 
species  of  woodbine  had  formed  a  complete  man- 
tle over  the  branches  of  the  fallen  tree,  almost 
impervious  to  the  rain,  or  the  rays  of  the  sun. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  211 

Probably   he   had   resorted   to    this   sequestered    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

place  for  a  length  of  time,  as  it  bore  marks  of  an  - 
ancient  settlement. 

I  now  took  my  knife,  determining  to  cut  away  Prepares  to 
the  woodbine,  and  break  the  twigs  in  the  gentlest with  the 

..  ,  .,,     T  Snake. 

manner  possible,  till  1  could  get  a  view  of  his 
head.  One  negro  stood  guard  close  behind  me 
with  the  lance ;  and  near  him  the  other  with  a 
cutlass.  The  cutlass  which  I  had  taken  from  the 
first  negro,  was  on  the  ground  close  by  me  in 
case  of  need. 

After  working  in  dead  silence  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  with  one  knee  all  the  time  on  the 
ground,  I  had  cleared  away  enough  to  see  his 
head.  It  appeared  coming  out  betwixt  the  first 
and  second  coil  of  his  body,  and  was  flat  on  the 
ground.  This  was  the  very  position  I  wished 
it  to  be  in. 

I  rose  in  silence,  and  retreated  very  slowly, 
making  a  sign  to  the  negroes  to  do  the  same. 
The  dog  .was  sitting  at  a  distance  in  mute  ob- 
servance. I  could  now  read  in  the  face  of  the 
negroes,  that  they  considered  this  as  a  very  un- 
pleasant affair ;  and  they  made  another  attempt 
to  persuade  me  to  let  them  go  for  a  gun.  I 
smiled  in  a  good-natured  manner,  and  made  a 
feint  to  cut  them  down  with  the  weapon  I 
had  in  my  hand.  This  was  all  the  answer 
I  made  to  their  request,  and  they  looked  very 
uneasy. 


212  WANDERINGS  IN 

It  must  be  observed,  we  were  now  about  twenty 
yards  from  the  snake's  den.  I  now  ranged  the 
negroes  behind  me,  and  told  him  who  stood  next 
to  me,  to  lay  hold  of  the  lance  the  moment  I 
struck  the  snake,  and  that  the  other  must  attend 
my  movements.  It  now  only  remained  to  take 
their  cutlasses  from  them,  for  I  was  sure,  if  I  did 
not  disarm  them,  they  would  be  tempted  to  strike 
the  snake  in  time  of  danger,  and  thus  for  ever 
spoil  his  skin.  On  taking  their  cutlasses  from 
them,  if  I  might  judge  from  their  physiognomy, 
they  seemed  to  consider  it  as  a  most  intolerable 
act  of  tyranny  in  me.  Probably  nothing  kept 
them  from  bolting,  but  the  consolation  that  I  was 
to  be  betwixt  them  and  the  snake.  Indeed,  my 
own  heart,  in  spite  of  all  I  could  do,  beat  quicker 
than  usual ;  and  I  felt  those  sensations  which  one 
has  on  board  a  merchant  vessel  in  war  time,  when 
the  captain  orders  all  hands  on  deck  to  prepare 
for  action,  while  a  strange  vessel  is  coming  down 
upon  us  under  suspicious  colours. 

We  went  slowly  on  in  silence,  without  moving 
our  arms  or  heads,  in  order  to  prevent  all  alarm 
as  much  as  possible,  lest  the  snake  should  glide 
off,  or  attack  us  in  self-defence.  I  carried  the 
lance  perpendicularly  before  me,  with  the  point 
about  a  foot  from  the  ground.  The  snake  had 
not  moved  ;  and  on  getting  up  to  him,  I  struck 
him  with  the  lance  on  the  near  side,  just  behind 
the  neck,  and  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  That 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  213 

moment,  the  negro  next  to  me  seized  the  lance,    THIRD 

•        n  JOCRNEY. 

and  held  it  firm  in  its  place,  while  I  dashed  head 

foremost  into  the  den  to  grapple  with  the  snake, 
and  to  get  hold  of  his  tail  before  he  could  do  any 
mischief. 

On  pinning  him  to  the  ground  with  the  lance, 
he  gave  a  tremendous  loud  hiss,  and  the  little 
dog  ran  away,  howling  as  he  went.  We  had 
a  sharp  fray  in  the  den,  the  rotten  sticks  flying 
on  all  sides,  and  each  party  struggling  for  supe- 
riority. I  called  out  to  the  second  negro  to 
throw  himself  upon  me,  as  I  found  I  was  not 
heavy  enough.  He  did  so,  and  the  additional 
weight  was  of  great  service.  I  had  now  got  firm 
hold  of  his  tail;  and  after  a  violent  struggle  or 
two,  he  gave  in,  finding  himself  overpowered. 
This  was  the  moment  to  secure  him.  So,  while 
the  first  negro  continued  to  hold  the  lance  firm  to 
the  ground,  and  the  other  was  helping  me,  I  con- 
trived to  unloose  my  braces,  and  with  them  tied 
up  the  snake's  mouth. 

The  snake  now  finding  himself  in  an  unpleasant 
situation,  tried  to  better  himself,  and  set  reso- 
lutely to  work,  but  we  overpowered  him.  We 
contrived  to  make  him  twist  himself  round  the 
shaft  of  the  lance,  and  then  prepared  to  convey 
him  out  of  the  forest.  I  stood  at  his  head,  and 
held  it  firm  under  my  arm,  one  negro  supported 
the  belly,  and  the  other  the  tail.  In  this  order  we 
began  to  move  slowly  towards  home,  and  reached 


214  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    ft  after  resting  ten  times ;  for  the  snake  was  too 

JOURNEY. 

heavy  for  us  to  support  him  without  stopping  to 
recruit  our  strength.  As  we  proceeded  onwards 
with  him,  he  fought  hard  for  freedom,  but  it  was 
all  in  vain.  The  day  was  now  too  far  spent  to 
think  of  dissecting  him.  Had  I  killed  him,  a 
partial  putrefaction  would  have  taken  place  before 
morning.  I  had  brought  with  me  up  into  the 
forest  a  strong  bag,  large  enough  to  contain  any 
animal  that  I  should  want  to  dissect.  I  considered 
this  the  best  mode  of  keeping  live  wild  animals 
when  I  was  pressed  for  daylight ;  for  the  bag 
yielding  in  every  direction  to  their  efforts,  they 
would  have  nothing  solid  or  fixed  to  work  on,  and 
thus  would  be  prevented  from  making  a  hole 
through  it.  I  say  fixed,  for  after  the  mouth  of 
the  bag  was  closed,  the  bag  itself  was  not  fastened 
or  tied  to  any  thing,  but  moved  about  wherever 
the  animal  inside  caused  it  to  roll.  After  securing 
afresh  the  mouth  of  the  coulacanara,  so  that  he 
could  not  open  it,  he  was  forced  into  this  bag,  and 
left  to  his  fate  till  morning. 

I  cannot  say  he  allowed  me  to  have  a  quiet 
night.  My  hammock  was  in  the  loft  just  above 
him,  and  the  floor  betwixt  us,  half  gone  to  decay, 
so  that  in  parts  of  it  no  boards  intervened 
betwixt  his  lodging-room  and  mine.  He  was  very 
restless  and  fretful ;  and  had  Medusa  been  my 
wife,  there  tfould  not  have  been  more  continued 
and  disagreeable  hissing  in  the  bed-chamber 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  215 

that  night.     At  daybreak,  I  sent  to  borrow   ten    THIRD 

f       i  JOURNEY. 

or  the  negroes  who  were  cutting  wood  at  a  dis-  - 
tance ;  I  could  have  done  with  half  that  number, 
but  judged  it  most  prudent  to  have  a  good  force, 
in  case  he  should  try  to  escape  from  the  house 
when  we  opened  the  bag.  However,  nothing 
serious  occurred. 

We  untied  the  mouth  of  the  bag,  kept  hinnciiisand 
down  by  main  force,  and  then  I  cut  his  throat.  sUS?  *' 
He  bled  like  an  ox.  By  six  o'clock  the  same  even- 
ing, he  was  completely  dissected.  On  examining 
his  teeth,  I  observed  that  they  were  all  bent  like 
tenter-hooks,  pointing  down  his  throat,  and  not 
so  large  or  strong  as  I  expected  to  have  found 
them;  but  they  are  exactly  suited  to  what  they 
are  intended  by  nature  to  perform.  The  snake 
does  not  masticate  his  food,  and  thus  the  only 
service  his  teeth  have  to  perform  is  to  seize  his 
prey,  and  hold  it  till  he  swallows  it  whole. 

In  general,  the  skins  of  snakes  are  sent  to 
museums  without  the  head  :  for  when  the  Indians 
and  Negroes  kill  a  snake,  they  seldom  fail  to  cut 
off  the  head,  and  then  they  run  no  risk  from  its 
teeth.  When  the  skin  is  stuffed  in  the  museum, 
a  wooden  head  is  substituted,  armed  with  teeth 
which  are  large  enough  to  suit  a  tiger's  jaw  ;  and 
this  tends  to  mislead  the  spectator,  and  give  him 
erroneous  ideas. 

During  this  fray  with  the  serpent,  the  old  negro, 
Daddy  Quashi,  was  in  George-town  procuring 


216  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD    provisions,  and  just  returned  in  time  to  help  to 

JOURNEY.     r 

—  take  the  skin  off.  He  had  spent  best  part  of  his 
life  in  the  forest  with  his  old  master,  Mr.  Edmon- 
stone,  and  amused  me  much  in  recounting  their 
many  adventures  amongst  the  wild  beasts.  The 
Daddy  had  a  particular  horror  of  snakes,  and 
frankly  declared  he  could  never  have  faced  the 
one  in  question. 

Attacks  The  week  following,  his  courage  was  put  to 
Snake.  the  test,  and  he  made  good  his  words.  It  was 
a  curious  conflict,  and  took  place  near  the  spot 
where  I  had  captured  the  large  snake.  In  the 
morning  I  had  been  following  a  new  species  of 
paroquet,  and  the  day  being  rainy,  I  had  taken 
an  umbrella  to  keep  the  gun  dry,  and  had  left  it 
under  a  tree ;  in  the  afternoon  I  took  Daddy 
Quashi  with  me  to  look  for  it.  Whilst  he  was 
searching  about,  curiosity  took  me  towards  the 
place  of  the  late  scene  of  action.  There  was  a 
path  where  timber  had  formerly  been  dragged 
along.  Here  I  observed  a  young  coulacanara, 
ten  feet  long,  slowly  moving  onwards  ;  I  saw  he 
was  not  thick  enough  to  break  my  arm,  in  case  he 
got  twisted  round  it.  There  was  not  a  moment 
to  be  lost.  I  laid  hold  of  his  tail  with  the  left 
hand,  one  knee  being  on  the  ground  ;  with  the 
right  I  took  off  my  hat,  and  held  it  as  you  would 
hold  a  shield  for  defence. 

The  snake  instantly  turned,  and  came  on  at  me, 
with  his  head  about  a  yard  from  the  ground,  as  if 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  217 

to  ask  me,  what  business  I  had  to  take  liberties    THI*D 

JOURNEY. 

with  his  tail.     I  let  him  come,  hissing  and  open 

mouthed,  within  two  feet  of  my  face,  and  then, 
with  all  the  force  I  was  master  of,  I  drove  my 
fist,  shielded  by  my  hat,  full  in  his  jaws.  He  was 
stunned  and  confounded  by  the  blow,  and  ere  he 
could  recover  himself,  I  had  seized  his  throat  with 
both  hands,  in  such  a  position  that  he  could  not 
bite  me  ;  I  then  allowed  him  to  coil  himself  round 
my  body,  and  marched  off  with  him  as  my  lawful 
prize.  He  pressed  me  hard,  but  not  alarmingly  so. 

In  the  mean  time,  Daddy  Quashi  having  found 
the  umbrella,  and  having  heard  the  noise  which 
the  fray  occasioned,  was  coming  cautiously  up. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  me,  and  in  what  company 
I  was,  he  turned  about  and  ran  off  home,  I  after 
him,  and  shouting  to  increase  his  fear.  On  scold- 
ing him  for  his  cowardice,  the  old  rogue  begged 
that  I  would  forgive  him,  for  that  the  sight  of 
the  snake  had  positively  turned  him  sick  at 
stomach. 

When  I  had  done  with  the  carcass  of  the  large 
snake,  it  was  conveyed  into  the  forest,  as  I  ex- 
pected that  it  would  attract  the  king  of  the 
vultures,  as  soon  as  time  should  have  rendered  it 
sufficiently  savoury.  In  a  few  days  it  sent  forth 
that  odour  which  a  carcass  should  send  forth,  and 
about  twenty  of  the  common  vultures  came  and 
perched  on  the  neighbouring  trees ;  the  king  of 
the  vultures  came  too  ;  and  I  observed  that  none 


218  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD    of  tne  common   ones   seemed  inclined  to  begin 

JOURNEY. 

breakfast  till  his  majesty  had  finished.  When  he 

had  consumed  as  much  snake  as  nature  informed 
him  would  do  him  good,  he  retired  to  the  top  of 
a  high  mora-tree,  and  then  all  the  common 
vultures  fell  to,  and  made  a  hearty  meal. 

The  King        The  head  and  neck  of  the  king  of  the  vultures 

of  the  Vul- 
tures,        are  bare  of  feathers ;  but  the  beautiful  appearance 

they  exhibit,  fades  in  death.  The  throat  and  the 
back  of  the  neck  are  of  a  fine  lemon  colour ;  both 
sides  of  the  neck,  from  the  ears  downwards,  of  a 
rich  scarlet ;  behind  the  corrugated  part,  there  is 
a  white  spot.  The  crown  of  the  head  is  scarlet ; 
betwixt  the  lower  mandible  and  the  eye,  and  close 
by  the  ear,  there  is  a  part  which  has  a  fine  silvery 
blue  appearance ;  the  corrugated  part  is  of  a  dirty 
light  brown ;  behind  it,  and  just  above  the  white 
spot,  a  portion  of  the  skin  is  blue,  and  the  rest 
scarlet ;  the  skin  which  juts  out  behind  the  neck, 
and  appears  like  an  oblong  caruncle,  is  blue  in 
part,  and  part  orange. 

its  bin.  The  bill  is  orange  and  black,  the  caruncles  on 

his  forehead  orange,  and  the  cere  orange  ;  the 
orbits  scarlet,  and  the  irides  white.  Below  the 
bare  part  of  the  neck  there  is  a  cinereous  ruff. 
The  bag  of  the  stomach,  which  is  only  seen 
when  distended  with  food,  is  of  a  most  delicate 
white,  intersected  with  blue  veins,  which  appear 
on  it  just  like  the  blue  veins  on  the  arm  of  a 
fair-complexioned  person.  The  tail  and  long 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  219 

wing-feathers  are  black,  the  belly  white,  and  the    ™»D 

-  JOURNEY. 

rest  or  the  body  a  fine  satin  colour. 

I  cannot  be  persuaded  that  the  vultures  ever 
feed  upon  live  animals,  not  even  upon  lizards,  rats, 
mice,  or  frogs ;  I  have  watched  them  for  hours 
together,  but  never  could  see  them  touch  any 
living  animals,  though  innumerable  lizards,  frogs, 
and  small  birds  swarmed  all  around  them.  I  have 
killed  lizards  and  frogs,  and  put  them  in  a  proper 
place  for  observation ;  as  soon  as  they  began  to 
stink,  the  aura  vulture  invariably  came  and  took 
them  off.  I  have  frequently  observed,  that  the 
day  after  the  planter  had  burnt  the  trash  in  a 
cane-field,  the  aura  vulture  was  sure  to  be  there, 
feeding  on  the  snakes,  lizards,  and  frogs  which 
had  suffered  in  the  conflagration.  I  often  saw  a 
large  bird  (very  much  like  the  common  gregarious 
vulture  at  a  distance)  catch  and  devour  lizards ; 
after  shooting  one,  it  turned  out  to  be  not  a  vul- 
ture, but  a  hawk,  with  a  tail  squarer  and  shorter 
than  hawks  have  in  general.  The  vultures,  like 
the  goatsucker  and  woodpecker,  seem  to  be  in 
disgrace  with  man.  They  are  generally  termed 
a  voracious,  stinking,  cruel,  and  ignoble  tribe. 
Under  these  impressions,  the  fowler  discharges  his 
gun  at  them,  and  probably  thinks  he  has  done 
well  in  ridding  the  earth  of  such  vermin. 

Some  governments  impose  a  fine  on  him  who 
kills  a  vulture.  This  is  a  salutary  law,  and  it 
were  to  be  wished  that  other  governments  would 


220  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    follow  So  good  an  example.     I  would  fain  here 

JOURNEY. 

say  a  word  or  two  in  favour  of  this  valuable 

scavenger. 

Kind  Providence  has  conferred  a  blessing  on 
hot  countries  in  giving  them  the  vulture ;  he  has 
ordered  it  to  consume  that  which,  if  left  to  dissolve 
in  putrefaction,  would  infect  the  air,  and  produce 
a  pestilence.  When  full  of  food,  the  vulture 
certainly  appears  an  indolent  bird ;  he  will  stand 
for  hours  together  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  or 
on  the  top  of  a  house,  with  his  wings  drooping, 
and  after  rain,  with  them  spread  and  elevated  to 
catch  the  rays  of  the  sun.  It  has  been  remarked 
by  naturalists,  that  the  flight  of  this  bird  is 
laborious.  I  have  paid  attention  to  the  vulture 
in  Andalusia,  and  to  those  in  Guiana,  Brazil,  and 
the  West  Indies,  and  conclude  that  they  are  birds 
of  long,  even,  and  lofty  flight.  Indeed,  whoever 
has  observed  the  aura  vulture,  will  be  satisfied 
that  his  flight  is  wonderfully  majestic,  and  of  long 
continuance. 

This  bird  is  above  five  feet  from  wing  to  wing 
extended.  You  will  see  it  soaring  aloft  in  the  aerial 
expanse  on  pinions  which  never  flutter,  and  which 
at  the  same  time  carry  him  through  the  fields  of 
ether  with  a  rapidity  equal  to  that  of  the  golden 
eagle.  In  Paramaribo  the  laws  protect  the  vul- 
ture, and  the  Spaniards  of  Angustura  never  think 
of  molesting  him.  In  1 808,  I  saw  the  vultures  in 
that  city  as  tame  as  domestic  fowls  ;  a  person  who 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  221 

had  never  seen  a  vulture  would  have  taken  them    TIIIRD 

JOURNEY. 

for    turkies.       They   were    very   useful    to   the  

Spaniards ;  had  it  not  been  for  them,  the  refuse 
of  the  slaughter-houses  in  Angustura  would  have 
caused  an  intolerable  nuisance. 

The  common  black,  short,  square-tailed  vulture  other 

•  •  i  i  i  •  /»        species  of 

is  gregarious ;  but  the  aura  vulture  is  not  so ;  for,  vulture. 
though  you  may  see  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them 
feeding  on  the  dead  vermin  in  a  cane- field,  after 
the  trash  has  been  set  fire  to,  still,  if  you  have 
paid  attention  to  their  arrival,  you  will  have 
observed  that  they  came  singly  and  retired  singly  ; 
and  thus  their  being  altogether  in  the  same  field 
was  merely  accidental,  and  caused  by  each  one 
smelling  the  effluvia  as  he  was  soaring  through  the 
sky  to  look  out  for  food.  I  have  watched  twenty 
come  into  a  cane-field  ;  they  arrived  one  by  one, 
and  from  different  parts  of  the  heavens.  Hence 
we  may  conclude,  that  though  the  other  species  of 
vulture  are  gregarious,  the  aura  vulture  is  not. 

If  you  dissect  a  vulture  that  has  just  been 
feeding  on  carrion,  you  must  expect  that  your 
olfactory  nerves  will  be  somewhat  offended  with 
the  rank  effluvia  from  his  craw ;  just  as  they 
would  be  were  you  to  dissect  a  citizen  after  the 
Lord  Mayor's  dinner.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the 
vulture  be  empty  at  the  time  you  commence  the 
operation,  there  will  be  no  offensive  smell,  but 
a  strong  scent  of  musk. 

I  had  long  wished  to  examine  the  native  haunts 


222  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    of  the  cayman  ;   but  as   the  river  Demerara  did 

JOURNEY. 

-  not  afford  a  specimen  of  the  larg%e  kind,  I  was 
obliged  to  go  to  the  river  Essequibo  to  look  for 
one. 


sails  in  a         j  g0t  the  canoe  ready,  and  went  down  in  it  to 

canoe  down  • 

to  the  Esse-  George-town  ;  where,  having  put  in  the  necessary 
articles  for  the  expedition,  not  forgetting  a  couple 
of  large  shark-hooks,  with  chains  attached  to 
them,  and  a  coil  of  strong  new  rope,  I  hoisted  a 
little  sail,  which  I  had  got  made  on  purpose,  and 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  shaped  our  course 
for  the  river  Essequibo.  I  had  put  a  pair  of  shoes 
on  to  prevent  the  tar  at  the  bottom  of  the  canoe 
from  sticking  to  my  feet.  The  sun  was  flaming 
hot,  and  from  eleven  o'clock  till  two  beat  perpen- 
dicularly upon  the  top  of  my  feet,  betwixt  the 
shoes  and  the  trowsers.  Not  feeling  it  disagree- 
able, or  being  in  the  least  aware  of  painful  conse- 
quences, as  I  had  been  barefoot  for  months,  I 
neglected  to  put  on  a  pair  of  short  stockings 
which  I  had  with  me.  I  did  not  reflect,  that 
sitting  still  in  one  place,  with  your  feet  exposed  to 
the  sun,  was  very  different  from  being  exposed  to 
the  sun  while  in  motion. 


suffers  we  wenf.  asnore  in  the  Essequibo,  about  three 

much  pain 

in  the  feet  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  choose  a  place  for  the 

from  exces-      ^  x 

sive  heat,  night's  residence,  to  collect  fire-wood,  and  to  set 
the  fish-hooks.  It  was  then  that  I  first  began 
to  find  my  legs  very  painful  :  they  soon  became 
much  inflamed,  and  red  and  blistered  ;  and  it 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  223 

required   considerable  caution   not    to  burst  the    THIRD 

,  ,.  -  .  JOURNEY. 

blisters,  otherwise   sores   would  have  ensued.     I- 
immediately  got   into  the   hammock,   and   there 
passed  a  painful  and  sleepless  night,  and  for  two 
days  after,  I  was  disabled  from  walking. 

About  midnight,  as  I  was  lying  awake,  and  in  visited  in 
great  pain,  I  heard  the  Indian  say,  "  Massa,lh 
massa,  you  no  hear  tiger  ?"  I  listened  attentively, Tlger 
and  heard  the  softly  sounding  tread  of  his  feet  as 
he  approached  us.  The  moon  had  gone  down ; 
but  every  now  and  then  we  could  get  a  glance  of 
him  by  the  light  of  our  fire  :  he  was  the  jaguar, 
for  I  could  see  the  spots  on  his  body.  Had  I 
wished  to  have  fired  at  him,  I  was  not  able  to 
take  a  sure  aim,  for  I  was  in  such  pain  that  I 
could  not  turn  myself  in  my  hammock.  The 
Indian  would  have  fired,  but  I  would  not  allow 
him  to  do  so,  as  I  wanted  to  see  a  little  more  of 
our  new  visitor  ;  for  it  is  not  every  day  or  night 
that  the  traveller  is  favoured  with  an  undisturbed 
sight  of  the  jaguar  in  his  own  forests. 

Whenever  the  fire  got  low,  the  jaguar  came  a 
little  nearer,  and  when  the  Indian  renewed  it,  he 
retired  abruptly  ;  sometimes  he  would  come  within 
twenty  yards,  and  then  we  had  a  view  of  him, 
sitting  on  his  hind  legs  like  a  dog ;  sometimes  he 
moved  slowly  to  and  fro,  and  at  other  times  we 
could  hear  him  mend  his  pace,  as  if  impatient. 
At  last  the  Indian,  not  relishing  the  idea  of 
having  such  company  in  the  neighbourhood,  could 


WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    contain   himself  no  longer,    and  set  up  a  most 

JOURNEY. 


tremendous  yell.     The  jaguar  bounded  off  like  a 
race-horse,  and  returned  no  more ;    it   appeared 
by  the  print  of  his  feet  the  next  morning,  that  he 
was  a  full-grown  jaguar. 
Reaches  the      In  two  days  after  this  we  got  to  the  first  falls 

falls  of  the    ...._..  . 

in  the  Essequibo.  There  was  a  superb  barrier  or 
rocks  quite  across  the  river.  In  the  rainy  season 
these  rocks  are  for  the  most  part  under  water  ; 
but  it  being  now  dry  weather,  we  had  a  fine  view 
of  them,  while  the  water  from  the  river  above  them 
rushed  through  the  different  openings  in  majestic 
grandeur.  Here,  on  a  little  hill,  jutting  out  into 
the  river,  stands  the  house  of  Mrs.  Peterson,  the 
last  house  of  people  of  colour  up  this  river ;  I 
hired  a  negro  from  her,  and  a  coloured  man,  who 
pretended  that  they  knew  the  haunts  of  the  cay- 
man, and  understood  every  thing  about  taking 
him.  We  were  a  day  in  passing  these  falls  and 
rapids,  celebrated  for  the  pacou,  the  richest  and 
most  delicious  fish  in  Guiana.  The  coloured  man 
was  now  in  his  element ;  he  stood  in  the  head  of 
the  canoe,  and  with  his  bow  and  arrow  shot  the 
pacou  as  they  were  swimming  in  the  stream.  The 
arrow  had  scarcely  left  the  bow  before  he  had 
plunged  headlong  into  the  river,  and  seized  the 
fish  as  it  was  struggling  with  it.  He  dived  and 
swam  like  an  otter,  and  rarely  missed  the  fish 
he  aimed  at. 

Did  my  pen,  gentle  reader,  possess  descriptive 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  225 

powers,  I  would   here  give  thee  an  idea  of  the    THIIU> 

JOUKNEY. 

enchanting  scenery  of  the  Essequibo  ;   but  that  - 
not  being  the  case,  thou  must  be  contented  with 
a  moderate  and  well-intended  attempt. 

Nothing  could  be  more  lovely  than  the  appear-  Scenery, 
ance  of  the  forest  on  each  side  of  this  noble  river. 
Hills  rose  on  hills  in  fine  gradation,  all  covered 
with  trees  of  gigantic  height  and  size.  Here 
their  leaves  were  of  a  lively  purple,  and  there  of 
the  deepest  green.  Sometimes  the  caracara  ex- 
tended its  scarlet  blossoms  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  gave  the  tree  the  appearance  as  though  it 
had  been  hung  with  garlands. 

This  delightful  scenery  of  the  Essequibo  made 
the  soul  overflow  with  joy,  and  caused  you  to 
rove  in  fancy  through  fairy-land ;  till,  on  turning 
an  angle  of  the  river,  you  were  recalled  to  more 
sober  reflections  on  seeing  the  once  grand  and 
towering  mora,  now  dead  and  ragged  in  its  top- 
most branches,  while  its  aged  trunk,  undermined 
by  the  rushing  torrent,  hung  as  though  in  sorrow 
over  the  river,  which,  ere  long,  would  receive 
it,  and  sweep  it  away  for  ever. 

During  the  day,  the  trade-wind  blew  a  gentle 
and  refreshing  breeze,  which  died  away  as  the 
night  set  in,  and  then  the  river  was  as  smooth 
as  glass. 

The  moon  was  within  three  days  of  being  full, 
so  that  we  did  not  regret  the  loss  of  the  sun, 
which  set  in  all  its  splendour.  Scarce  had  he 

Q 


226  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    sunk  behind   the  western  hills,  when  the  goat- 

JOURNEY. 

suckers  sent  forth  their  soft  and  plaintive  cries ; 

some  often  repeating,  "  Who  are  you — who,  who, 
who  are  you  ?"  and  others,  "  Willy,  Willy,  Willy 
come  go." 

The  Indian  and  Daddy  Quashi  often  shook 
their  head  at  this,  and  said  they  were  bringing 
talk  from  Yabahou,  who  is  the  evil  spirit  of  the 
Essequibo.  It  was  delightful  to  sit  on  the  branch 
of  a  fallen  tree,  near  the  water's  edge,  and  listen 
to  these  harmless  birds  as  they  repeated  their 
evening  song ;  and  watch  the  owls  and  vampires 
as  they  every  now  and  then  passed  up  and  down 
the  river. 

The  cam-  The  next  day,  about  noon,  as  we  were  proceed- 
ing onwards,  we  heard  the  campanero  tolling  in 
the  depth  of  the  forest.  Though  I  should  not 
then  have  stopped  to  dissect  even  a  rare  bird, 
having  a  greater  object  in  view,  still  I  could  not 
resist  the  opportunity  offered  of  acquiring  the 
campanero.  The  place  where  he  was  tolling  was 
low  and  swampy,  and  my  legs  not  having  quite 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  sun,  I  sent  the 
Indian  to  shoot  the  campanero.  He  got  up  to 
the  tree,  which  he  described  as  very  high,  with  a 
naked  top,  and  situated  in  a  swamp.  He  fired  at 
the  bird,  but  either  missed  it,  or  did  not  wound  it 
sufficiently  to  bring  it  down.  This  was  the  only 
opportunity  I  had  of  getting  a  campanero  during 
this  expedition.  We  had  never  heard  one  toll 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  227 

before     this     morning,    and     never     heard    one     TIIIRI> 

JOURNEY. 

after. 

About  an  hour  before  sunset,  we  reached  the 
place  which  the  two  men,  who  had  joined  us  at 
the  falls,  pointed  out  as  a  proper  one  to  find 
a  cayman.  There  was  a  large  creek  close  by, 
and  a  sand-bank  gently  sloping  to  the  water. 
Just  within  the  forest  on  this  bank,  we  cleared 
a  place  of  brushwood,  suspended  the  hammocks 
from  the  trees,  and  then  picked  up  enough  of 
decayed  wood  for  fuel. 

The  Indian  found  a  large  land  tortoise,  and 
this,  with  plenty  of  fresh  fish  which  we  had  in 
the  canoe,  afforded  a  supper  not  to  be  despised. 

The   tigers  had  kept  up   a  continual  roaring  Roaring  of 

.       •,.  ,-.  T1T-1  •! 

every  night  since  we  had  entered  the  hssequibo. 
The  sound  was  awfully  fine.  Sometimes  it  was 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  ;  at  other  times 
it  was  far  off,  and  echoed  amongst  the  hills  like 
distant  thunder. 

It  may,  perhaps,  not  be  amiss  to  observe  here, 
that  when  the  word  Tiger  is  used,  it  does  not  mean 
the  Bengal  tiger.  It  means  the  Jaguar,  whose 
skin  is  beautifully  spotted,  and  not  striped  like 
that  of  the  tiger  in  the  East.  It  is,  in  fact,  the 
tiger  of  the  new  world,  and  receiving  the  name  of 
tiger  from  the  discoverers  of  South  America,  it 
lias  kept  it  ever  since.  It  is  a  cruel,  strong,  and 
dangerous  beast,  but  not  so  courageous  as  the 
Bengal  tiger. 

Q2 


228  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD         We  now  baited  a  sha^k-hook  with  a  large  fish, 

JOURNEY. 

and  put  it  upon  a  board  about  a  yard  long,  and 

one  foot  broad,  which  we  had  brought  on  purpose. 
This  board  was  carried  out  in  the  canoe,  about 
forty  yards  into  the  river.  By  means  of  a  string, 
long  enough  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  river, 
and  at  the  end  of  which  string  was  fastened  a 
stone,  the  board  was  kept,  as  it  were,  at  anchor. 
One  end  of  the  new  rope  I  had  bought  in  town, 
was  reeved  through  the  chain  of  the  shark-hook, 
and  the  other  end  fastened  to  a  tree  on  the  sand- 
bank. 

It  was  now  an  hour  after  sunset.  The  sky  was 
cloudless,  and  the  moon  shone  beautifully  bright. 
There  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  in  the  heavens, 
and  the  river  seemed  like  a  large  plain  of  quick- 
silver. Every  now  and  then  a  huge  fish  would 
strike  and  plunge  in  the  water  ;  then  the  owls 
and  goatsuckers  would  continue  their  lamenta- 
tions, and  the  sound  of  these  was  lost  in  the 
prowling  tiger's  growl.  Then  all  was  still  again 
and  silent  as  midnight. 

Noiseofthe      The  caymen  were  now  upon  the   stir,  and  at 

Caymen.       .  i   .  »i    '•  •  -1-11          T      •  «   i       i  •  i 

intervals  their  noise  could  be  distinguished  amid 
that  of  the  jaguar,  the  owls,  the  goatsuckers,  and 
frogs.  It  was  a  singular  and  awful  sound.  It 
was  like  a  suppressed  sigh,  bursting  forth  all  of  a 
sudden,  and  so  loud  that  you  might  hear  it  above 
a  mile  off.  First  one  emitted  this  horrible  noise, 
and  then  another  answered  him  ;  and  on  looking 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  229 

at  the  countenances  of  the  people  round   me,  I     THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

could  plainly  see  that  they  expected  to  have  a 

cayman  that  night. 

We  were  at  supper,  when  the  Indian,  who 
seemed  to  have  had  one  eye  on  the  turtle-pot, 
and  the  other  on  the  bait  in  the  river,  said  he  saw 
the  cayman  coming. 

Upon  looking  towards  the  place,  there  ap- 
peared something  on  the  water  like  a  black  log 
of  wood.  It  was  so  unlike  any  thing  alive,  that 
I  doubted  if  it  were  a  cayman  ;  but  the  Indian 
smiled,  and  said,  he  was  sure  it  was  one,  for 
he  remembered  seeing  a  cayman,  some  years  ago, 
when  he  was  in  the  Essequibo. 

At  last  it  gradually  approached  the  bait,  and 
the  board  began  to  move.  The  moon  shone  so 
bright,  that  we  could  distinctly  see  him  open 
his  huge  jaws,  and  take  in  the  bait.  We  pulled 
the  rope.  He  immediately  let  drop  the  bait; 
and  then  we  saw  his  black  head  retreating  from 
the  board,  to  the  distance  of  a  few  yards;  and 
there  it  remained  quite  motionless. 

He  did  not  seem  inclined  to  advance  again ; 
and  so  we  finished  our  supper.  In  about  an 
hour's  time  he  again  put  himself  in  motion,  and 
took  hold  of  the  bait.  But,  probably,  suspecting 
that  he  had  to  deal  with  knaves  and  cheats, 
he  held  it  in  his  mouth,  but  did  not  swallow  it. 
We  pulled  the  rope  again,  but  with  no  better 
success  than  the  first  time. 


230  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD         jje  retreated  as  usual,  and   came  back  again 

JOURNEY. 

-  in  about  an  hour.  We  paid  him  every  attention 
till  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  ;  when,  worn  out 
with  disappointment,  we  went  to  the  hammocks, 
turned  in,  and  fell  asleep. 

When  day  broke,  we  found  that  he  had  con- 
trived to  get  the  bait  from  the  hook,  though 
we  had  tied  it  on  with  string.  We  had  now  no 
more  hopes  of  taking  a  cayman,  till  the  return 
of  night.  The  Indian  took  off  into  the  woods, 
and  brought  back  a  noble  supply  of  game.  The 
rest  of  us  went  into  the  canoe,  and  proceeded 
up  the  river  to  shoot  fish.  We  got  even  more 
than  we  could  use. 

As  we  approached  the  shallows,  we  could  see 
the  large  sting-rays  moving  at  the  bottom.  The 
coloured  man  never  failed  to  hit  them  with  his 
arrow.  The  weather  was  delightful.  There  was 
scarcely  a  cloud  to  intercept  the  sun's  rays. 
Birds.  I  saw  several  scarlet  aras,  anhingas,  and 

ducks,  but  could  not  get  a  shot  at  them.  The 
parrots  crossed  the  river  in  innumerable  quan- 
tities, always  flying  in  pairs.  Here,  too,  I  saw 
the  Sun-bird,  called  Tirana  by  the  Spaniards  in 
the  Oroonoque,  and  shot  one  of  them.  The 
black  and  white  scarlet-headed  finch  was  very 
common  here.  I  could  never  see  this  bird  in 
the  Demerara,  nor  hear  of  its  being  there. 

We  at  last  came  to  a  large  sand-bank,  probably 
two  miles  in  circumference.  As  we  approached 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  231 

it  we  could  see  two  or  three  hundred  fresh-water    THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

turtle  on  the  edge  of  the  bank.     Ere  we  could  - 
get  near  enough  to  let  fly  an  arrow  at  them,  they 
had  all  sunk  into  the  river  and  appeared  no  more. 

We  went  on  the  sand-bank  to  look  for  their  Turtle*, 
nests,  as  this  was  the  breeding  season.  The"6 
coloured  man  showed  us  how  to  find  them. 
Wherever  a  portion  of  the  sand  seemed  smoother 
than  the  rest,  there  was  sure  to  be  a  turtle's  nest. 
On  digging  down  with  our  hands,  about  nine 
inches  deep,  we  found  from  twenty  to  thirty  white 
eggs  ;  in  less  than  an  hour  we  got  above  two 
hundred.  Those  which  had  a  little  black  spot  or 
two  on  the  shell  we  ate  the  same  day,  as  it 
was  a  sign  that  they  were  not  fresh,  and  of 
course  would  not  keep :  those  which  had  no  speck 
were  put  into  dry  sand,  and  were  good  some 
weeks  after. 

At  midnight,  two  of  our  people  went  to  this 
sand-bank,  while  the  rest  staid  to  watch  the 
cayman.  The  turtle  had  advanced  on  to  the  sand 
to  lay  their  eggs,  and  the  men  got  betwixt  them 
and  the  water ;  they  brought  off  half  a  dozen 
very  fine  and  well-fed  turtle.  The  egg-shell  of 
the  fresh-water  turtle  is  not  hard  like 'that  of 
the  land  tortoise,  but  appears  like  white  parch- 
ment, and  gives  way  to  the  pressure  of  the 
fingers ;  but  it  is  very  tough,  and  does  not  break. 
On  this  sand-bank,  close  to  the  forest,  we  found 
several  guana's  nests  ;  but  they  had  never  more 


232  WANDERINGS    IN 


f°urteen  eggs  a-piece.  Thus  passed  the 
day  in  exercise  and  knowledge,  till  the  sun's 
declining  orb  reminded  us  it  was  time  to  return 
to  the  place  from  whence  we  had  set  out. 

The  second  night's  attempt  upon  the  cayman 
was  a  repetition  of  the  first,  quite  unsuccessful. 
We  went  a  fishing  the  day  after,  had  excellent 
sport,  and  returned  to  experience  a  third  night's 
disappointment.  On  the  fourth  evening,  about 
four  o'clock,  we  began  to  erect  a  stage  amongst 
the  trees,  close  to  the  water's  edge.  From  this 
we  intended  to  shoot  an  arrow  into  the  cayman : 
at  the  end  of  this  arrow  was  to  be  attached  a 
string,  which  would  be  tied  to  the  rope,  and 
as  soon  as  the  cayman  was  struck,  we  were  to 
have  the  canoe  ready,  and  pursue  him  in  the  river. 
While  we  were  busy  in  preparing  the  stage,  a 
tiger  began  to  roar.  We  judged  by  the  sound 
that  he  was  not  above  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  us, 
and  that  he  was  close  to  the  side  of  the  river. 
Unfortunately,  the  Indian  said  it  was  not  a  jaguar 
couguar.  that  was  roaring,  but  a  couguar.  The  couguar 
is  of  a  pale,  brownish  red  colour,  and  not 
as  large  as  the  jaguar.  As  there  was  nothing 
particular  in  this  animal,  I  thought  it  better  to 
attend  to  the  apparatus  for  catching  the  cayman 
than  to  go  in  quest  of  the  couguar.  The 
people,  however,  went  in  the  canoe  to  the  place 
where  the  couguar  was  roaring.  On  arriving 
near  the  spot,  they  saw  it  was  not  a  couguar,  but 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  233 

an  immense  jaguar,  standing  on  the  trunk  of  an    THIRD 

°  JOURNEY. 

aged   mora-tree,  which   bended  over  the   river ; 

he  growled,  and  showed  his  teeth  as  they  ap- 
proached; the  coloured  man  fired  at  him  with  a 
ball,  but  probably  missed  him,  and  the  tiger 
instantly  descended,  and  took  off  into  the  woods. 
I  went  to  the  place  before  dark,  and  we  searched 
the  forest  for  about  half  a  mile  in  the  direction  he 
had  fled,  but  we  could  see  no  traces  of  him, 
or  any  marks  of  blood ;  so  I  concluded  that  fear 
had  prevented  the  man  from  taking  steady  aim. 

We  spent  best  part  of  the  fourth  night  in 
trying  for  the  cayman,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
I  was  now  convinced  that  something  was  materi- 
ally wrong.  We  ought  to  have  been  successful, 
considering  our  vigilance  and  attention,  and  that 
we  had  repeatedly  seen  the  cayman.  It  was 
useless  to  tarry  here  any  longer ;  moreover,  the 
coloured  man  began  to  take  airs,  and  fancied 
that  I  could  not  do  without  him.  I  never  admit  Discharge* 

.        .  T     •  -I  T  the  mtln  "* 

of  this  in  any  expedition  where  1  am  commander  ;  colour, 
and  so  I  convinced  the  man,  to  his  sorrow,  that 
I  could  do  without  him  ;  for  I  paid  him  what 
I  had  agreed  to  give  him,  which  amounted  to 
eight  dollars,  and  ordered  him  back  in  his  own 
curial  to  Mrs.  Peterson's,  on  the  hill  at  the  first 
falls.  I  then  asked  the  negro  if  there  were 
any  Indian  settlements  in  the  neighbourhood; 
he  said  he  knew  of  one,  a  day  and  a  half  off. 
We  went  in  quest  of  it,  and  about  one  o'clock 


234  WANDERINGS    IN 

f-ne   next   day    the  negro  showed   us  the  creek 

* 


THIRD 

JOURNEY. 

-  where  it  was. 
Reaches  a       The  entrance  was  so  concealed  by  thick  bushes 

creek    and  ,      .  .  , 

Indian  set-  that  a  stranger  would  have  passed  it  without 
knowing  it  to  be  a  creek.  In  going  up  it  we 
found  it  dark,  winding,  and  intricate  beyond  any 
creek  that  I  had  ever  seen  before.  When  Orpheus 
came  back  with  his  young  wife  from  Styx,  his 
path  must  have  been  similar  to  this,  for  Ovid  says 
it  was 

"  Arduus,  obliquus,  caligine  densus  opaca," 

and  this  creek  was  exactly  so. 

When  we  had  got  about  two-thirds  up  it,  we 
met  the  Indians  going  a  fishing.  I  saw,  by  the 
way  their  things  were  packed  in  the  curial,  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  return  for  some  days. 
However,  on  telling  them  what  we  wanted,  and 
by  promising  handsome  presents  of  powder,  shot, 
and  hooks,  they  dropped  their  expedition,  and 
invited  us  up  to  the  settlement  they  had  just  left, 
and  where  we  laid  in  a  provision  of  cassava. 
Indian  They  gave  us  for  dinner  boiled  ant-bear  and 

dinner. 

red  monkey  ;  two  dishes  unknown  even  at  Beau- 
villiers  in  Paris,  or  at  a  London  city  feast.  The 
monkey  was  very  good  indeed,  but  the  ant-bear 
had  been  kept  beyond  its  time  ;  it  stunk  as  our 
venison  does  in  England  ;  and  so,  after  tasting  it, 
I  preferred  dining  entirely  on  monkey.  After 
resting  here,  we  went  back  to  the  river.  The 
•Indians,  three  in  number,  accompanied  us  in  their 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  235 


JOURNEY. 


own  curial,  and,  on  entering  the  river,  pointed  to    T»IR» 

O  A  I  ,  ,  (     i.  v  i  v 

a  place  a  little  way  above,  well  calculated  to 
harbour  a  cayman.  The  water  was  deep  and 
still,  and  flanked  by  an  immense  sand-bank ;  there 
was  also  a  little  shallow  creek  close  by. 

On  this  sand-bank,  near  the  forest,  the  people 
made  a  shelter  for  the  night.  My  own  was 
already  made;  for  I  always  take  with  me  a 
painted  sheet,  about  twelve  feet  by  ten.  This, 
thrown  over  a  pole,  supported  betwixt  two  trees, 
makes  you  a  capital  roof  with  very  little  trouble. 

We  showed  one  of  the  Indians  the  shark-hook. 
He  shook  his  head  and  laughed  at  it,  and  said  it 
would  not  do.  When  he  was  a  boy,  he  had  seen 
his  father  catch  the  caymen,  and  on  the  morrow 
he  would  make  something  that  would  answer. 

In  the  mean  time,  we  set  the  shark-hook,  but  it 
availed  us  naught;  a  cayman  came  and  took  it, 
but  would  not  swallow  it. 

Seeing  it  was  useless  to  attend  the  shark-hook 
any  longer,  we  left  it  for  the  night,  and  returned 
to  our  hammocks. 

Ere  I  fell  asleep,  a  reflection  or  two  broke  in 
upon  me.  I  considered,  that  as  far  as  the  judg- 
ment of  civilized  man  went,  every  thing  had  been 
procured  and  done  to  ensure  success.  We  had 
hooks,  and  lines,  and  baits,  and  patience ;  we  had 
spent  nights  in  watching,  had  seen  the  cayman 
come  and  take  the  bait,  and  after  our  expectations 
had  been  wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  all  ended 


236  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


THIRD    in  disappointment.     Probably  this  poor  wild  man 

niTRitfFV-  •"••*•  r  .*  *-m 

of  the  woods  would  succeed  by  means  of  a  very 
simple  process ;  and  thus  prove  to  his  more 
civilized  brother,  that  notwithstanding  books  and 
schools,  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  knowledge  to  be 
picked  up  at  every  step,  whichever  way  we  turn 
ourselves. 

In  the  morning,  as  usual,  we  found  the  bait  gone 
from  the  shark-hook.  The  Indians  went  into  the 
forest  to  hunt,  and  we  took  the  canoe  to  shoot  fish 
and  get  another  supply  of  turtle's  eggs,  which  we 
found  in  great  abundance  on  this  large  sand-bank. 

We  went  to  the  little  shallow  creek,  and  shot 
some  young  caymen,  about  two  feet  long.  It  was 
astonishing  to  see  what  spite  and  rage  these  little 
things  showed  when  the  arrow  struck  them ;  they 
turned  round  and  bit  it,  and  snapped  at  us  when 
we  went  into  the  water  to  take  them  up.  Daddy 
Quashi  boiled  one  of  them  for  his  dinner,  and 
found  it  very  sweet  and  tender.  I  do  not  see  why 
it  should  not  be  as  good  as  frog  or  veal. 

The  day  was  now  declining  apace,  and  the 
Indian  had  made  his  instrument  to  take  the  cay- 
man. It  was  very  simple.  There  were  four 
pieces  of  tough  hard  wood,  a  foot  long,  and  about 
as  thick  as  your  little  finger,  and  barbed  at  both 
ends ;  they  were  tied  round  the  end  of  the  rope, 
in  such  a  manner,  that  if  you  conceive  the  rope 
to  be  an  arrow,  these  four  sticks  would  form  the 
arrow's  head  ;  so  that  one  end  of  the  four  united 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 


237 


sticks  answered  to  the  point  of  the  arrow-head, 
while  the  other  end  of  the  sticks  expanded  at 
equal  distances  round  the  rope,  thus — 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


Now  it  is  evident,  that  if  the  cayman  swallowed 
this,  (the  other  end  of  the  rope,  which  was  thirty 
yards  long,  being  fastened  to  a  tree,)  the  more  he 
pulled,  the  faster  the  barbs  would  stick  into  his 
stomach.  This  wooden  hook,  if  you  may  so  call 
it,  was  well-baited  with  the  flesh  of  the  acouri, 
and  the  entrails  were  twisted  round  the  rope  for 
about  a  foot  above  it. 

Nearly  a  mile  from  where  we  had  our  ham- 
mocks, the  sand-bank  was  steep  and  abrupt,  and 
the  river  very  still  and  deep  ;  there  the  Indian 
pricked  a  stick  into  the  sand.  It  was  two  feet 
long,  and  on  its  extremity  was  fixed  the  machine ; 
it  hung  suspended  about  a  foot  from  the  water, 
and  the  end  of  the  rope  was  made  fast  to  a  stake 
driven  well  into  the  sand. 


238  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD         T^  Indian  then  took  the  empty  shell  of  a  land 

JOURNEY.  l      J 

tortoise,  and  gave  it  some  heavy  blows  with  an 

axe.  I  asked  why  he  did  that.  He  said,  it  was 
to  let  the  cayman  hear  that  something  was  going 
on.  In  fact,  the  Indian  meant  it  as  the  cayman's 
dinner  bell. 

Having  done  this,  we  went  back  to  the  ham- 
mocks, not  intending  to  visit  it  again  till  morning. 
During  the  night,  the  jaguars  roared  and  grum- 
bled in  the  forest,  as  though  the  world  was  going 
wrong  with  them,  and  at  intervals  we  could  hear 
the  distant  cayman.  The  roaring  of  the  jaguars 
was  awful;  but  it  was  music  to  the  dismal  noise 
of  these  hideous  and  malicious  reptiles. 
Succeed  in  About  half-past  five  in  the  morning,  the  Indian 
cayman,  stole  off  silently  to  take  a  look  at  the  bait.  On 
arriving  at  the  place,  he  set  up  a  tremendous 
shout.  We  all  jumped  out  of  our  hammocks, 
and  ran  to  him.  The  Indians  got  there  before 
me,  for  they  had  no  clothes  to  put  on,  and  I  lost 
two  minutes  in  looking  for  my  trowsers  and  in 
slipping  into  them. 

We  found  a  cayman,  ten  feet  and  a  half  long, 
fast  to  the  end  of  the  rope.  Nothing  now  re- 
mained to  do,  but  to  get  him  out  of  the  water 
without  injuring  his  scales,  "  hoc  opus,  hie  labor." 
We  mustered  strong :  there  were  three  Indians 
from  the  creek,  there  was  my  own  Indian  Yan, 
Daddy  Quashi,  the  negro  from  Mrs.  Peterson's, 
James,  Mr.  R.  Edmonstone's  man,  whom  I  was 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  239 

instructing    to   preserve    birds,   and,   lastly,  my-    THI*D 

*'  *        JOURNEY. 

self. 


I  informed  the  Indians  that  it  was  my  intention 
to  draw  him  quietly  out  of  the  water,  and  then 
secure  him.  They  looked  and  stared  at  each 
other,  and  said,  I  might  do  it  myself;  but  they 
would  have  no  hand  in  it;  the  cayman  would 
worry  some  of  us.  On  saying  this,  "  consedere 
duces,"  they  squatted  on  their  hams  with  the  most 
perfect  indifference. 

The  Indians  of  these  wilds  have  never  been 
subject  to  the  least  restraint ;  and  I  knew  enough 
of  them  to  be  aware,  that  if  I  tried  to  force  them 
against  their  will,  they  would  take  off,  and  leave 
me  and  my  presents  unheeded,  and  never  return. 

Daddy  Quashi  was  for  applying  to  our  guns,  as 
usual,  considering  them  our  best  and  safest  friends. 
I  immediately  offered  to  knock  him  down  for  his 
cowardice,  and  he  shrunk  back,  begging  that  I 
would  be  cautious,  and  not  get  myself  worried ;  and 
apologizing  for  his  own  want  of  resolution.  My 
Indian  was  now  in  conversation  with  the  others, 
and  they  asked  if  I  would  allow  them  to  shoot 
a  dozen  arrows  into  him,  and  thus  disable  him. 
This  would  have  ruined  all.  I  had  come  above 
three  hundred  miles  on  purpose  to  get  a  cayman 
uninjured,  and  not  to  carry  back  a  mutilated 
specimen.  I  rejected  their  proposition  with 
firmness,  and  darted  a  disdainful  eye  upon  the 
Indians. 


240  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD         Daddy  Quashi  was  again  beginning  to  remon- 

-  strate,  and  I  chased  him  on  the  sand-bank  for  a 

,     quarter  of  a  mile.     He  told   me  afterwards,  he 

thought  he  should  have  dropped  down  dead  with 

fright,  for  he  was  firmly  persuaded,  if  I  had  caught 

him,  I  should  have  bundled  him  into  the  cayman's 

jaws.     Here  then  we  stood,  in  silence,  like  a  calm 

before  a  thunder-storm.     "  Hoc  res  summa  loco. 

Scinditur  in  contraria  vulgus."     They  wanted  to 

kill  him,  and  I  wanted  to  take  him  alive. 

I  now  walked  up  and  down  the  sand,  revolving 
a  dozen  projects  in  my  head.  The  canoe  was  at 
a  considerable  distance,  and  I  ordered  the  people 
to  bring  it  round  to  the  place  where  we  were. 
The  mast  was  eight  feet  long,  and  not  much 
thicker  than  my  wrist.  I  took  it  out  of  the 
canoe,  and  wrapped  the  sail  round  the  end  of  it. 
Now  it  appeared  clear  to  me,  that  if  I  went  down 
upon  one  knee,  and  held  the  mast  in  the  same 
position  as  the  soldier  holds  his  bayonet  when 
rushing  to  the  charge,  I  could  force  it  down  the 
cayman's  throat,  should  he  come  open-mouthed  at 
me.  When  this  was  told  to  the  Indians,  they 
brightened  up,  and  said  they  would  help  me  to 
pull  him  out  of  the  river. 

Prepare  to      "  Brave  squad !"   said   I   to  myself,   "  *  Audax 

cayman     omnia  perpeti,'  now  that  you  have  got  me  betwixt 

yourselves   and   danger."      I    then   mustered   all 

hands  for  the  last  time  before  the  battle.     We 

were,  four  South  American  savages,  two  negroes 


JOURNET. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  241 

from  Africa,  a  Creole  from  Trinidad,  and  myself 

.  » 

a  white  man  from  Yorkshire.  In  fact,  a  little 
tower  of  Babel  group,  in  dress,  no  dress,  address, 
and  language. 

Daddy  Quashi  hung  in  the  rear ;  I  showed  him 
a  large  Spanish  knife,  which  I  always  carried  in 
the  waistband  of  my  trowsers :  it  spoke  volumes 
to  him,  and  he  shrugged  up  his  shoulders  in 
absolute  despair.  The  sun  was  just  peeping  over 
the  high  forests  on  the  eastern  hills,  as  if  coming 
to  look  on,  and  bid  us  act  with  becoming  for- 
titude. I  placed  all  the  people  at  the  end  of  the 
rope,  and  ordered  them  to  pull  till  the  cayman 
appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  and  then, 
should  he  plunge,  to  slacken  the  rope  and  let 
him  go  again  into  the  deep. 

I  now  took  the  mast  of  the  canoe  in  my  hand 
(the  sail  being  tied  round  the  end  of  the  mast) 
and  sunk  down  upon  one  knee,  about  four  yards 
from  the  water's  edge,  determining  to  thrust  it 
down  his  throat,  in  case  he  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity. I  certainly  felt  somewhat  uncomfortable 
in  this  situation,  and  I  thought  of  Cerberus  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Styx  ferry.  The  people 
pulled  the  cayman  to  the  surface ;  he  plunged 
furiously  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  these  upper 
regions,  and  immediately  went  below  again  on 
their  slackening  the  rope.  I  saw  enough  not 
to  fall  in  love  at  first  sight.  I  now  told  them 
we  would  run  all  risks,  and  have  him  on  land 

R 


242  WANDKRINGS    IN 

THIRD     immediately.     They  pulled    again,   and   out   he 

JOURNEY.  *       r 

came,  —  "monstrum  horrendum,  informe."     This 

was  an  interesting  moment.     I  kept  my  position 
firmly,  with  my  eye  fixed  steadfast  on  him. 

By  the  time  the  cayman  was  within  two  yards 
of  me,  I  saw  he  was  in  a  state  of  fear  and  per- 
turbation ;  I  instantly  dropped  the  mast,  sprung 
up,  and  jumped  on  his  back,  turning  half  round 
as  I  vaulted,  so  that  I  gained  my  seat  with  my 
face  in  a  right  position.  I  immediately  seized  his 
fore  legs,  and,  by  main  force,  twisted  them  on  his 
back  ;  thus  they  served  me  for  a  bridle. 

He  now  seemed  to  have  recovered  from  his 
surprise,  and  probably  fancying  himself  in  hostile 
company,  he  began  to  plunge  furiously,  and  lashed 
the  sand  with  his  long  and  powerful  tail.  I  was 
out  of  reach  of  the  strokes  of  it,  by  being  near 
his  head.  He  continued  to  plunge  and  strike, 
and  made  my  seat  very  uncomfortable.  It  must 
have  been  a  fine  sight  for  an  unoccupied  spectator. 
The  people  roared  out  in  triumph,  and  were  so 
vociferous,  that  it  was  some  time  before  they 
heard  me  tell  them  to  pull  me  and  my  beast  of 
burden  farther  in  land.  I  was  apprehensive  the 
rope  might  break,  and  then  there  would  have 
been  every  chance  of  going  down  to  the  regions 
under  water  with  the  cayman.  That  would  have 
been  more  perilous  than  Arion's  marine  morning 
ride : — 

"  Delphini  insidens  vada  caerula  sulcat  Arion." 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  243 

The  people  now  dragged  us  above  forty  yards 
on  the  sand :  it  was  the  first  and  last  time  I  was 
ever  on  a  cayman's  back.  Should  it  be  asked, 
how  I  managed  to  keep  my  seat,  I  would  answer, — 
I  hunted  some  years  with  Lord  Darlington's  fox 
hounds. 

After  repeated  attempts  to  regain  his  liberty, 
the  cayman  gave  in,  and  became  tranquil  through 
exhaustion.  I  now  managed  to  tie  up  his  jaws, 
and  firmly  secured  his  fore-feet  in  the  position 
I  had  held  them.  We  had  now  another  severe 
struggle  for  superiority,  but  he  was  soon  over- 
come, and  again  remained  quiet.  While  some 
of  the  people  were  pressing  upon  bis  head  and 
shoulders,  I  threw  myself  on  his  tail,  and  by 
keeping  it  down  to  the  sand,  prevented  him  from 
kicking  up  another  dust.  He  was  finally  conveyed 
to  the  canoe,  and  then  to  the  place  where  we 
had  suspended  our  hammocks.  There  I  cut  his 
throat;  and  after  breakfast  was  over,  commenced 
the  dissection. 

Now  that  the  affray  had  ceased,  Daddy  Quashi 
played  a  good  finger  and  thumb  at  breakfast ;  he 
said  he  found  himself  much  revived,  and  became 
very  talkative  and  useful,  as  there  was  no  longer 
any  danger.  He  was  a  faithful,  honest  negro. 
His  master,  my  worthy  friend  Mr.  Edmonstone, 
had  been  so  obliging  as  to  send  out  particular 
orders  to  the  colony,  that  the  Daddy  should  attend 
me  all  the  time  I  was  in  the  forest.  He  had  lived 

R  2 


244  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    in  the  wilds  of  Demerara  with  Mr.  Edmonstone 

JOURNEY. 

for  many  years ;  and  often  amused  me  with  the 

account  of  the  frays  his  master  had  had  in  the 
woods  with  snakes,  wild  beasts,  and  runaway 
negroes.  Old  age  was  now  coming  fast  upon 
him;  he  had  been  an  able  fellow  in  his  younger 
days,  and  a  gallant  one  too,  for  he  had  a  large 
scar  over  his  eyebrow,  caused  by  the  stroke  of  a 
cutlass,  from  another  negro,  while  the  Daddy  was 
engaged  in  an  intrigue. 

The  back  of      The  back  of  the  cayman  may  be  said    to  be 

man. ay  almost  impenetrable  to  a  musket  ball,  but  his 
sides  are  not  near  so  strong,  and  are  easily  pierced 
with  an  arrow;  indeed,  were  they  as  strong  as 
the  back  and  the  belly,  there  would  be  no  part 
of  the  cayman's  body  soft  and  elastic  enough 
to  admit  of  expansion  after  taking  in  a  supply 
of  food. 

its  teeth.  The  cayman  has  no  grinders ;  his  teeth  are 
entirely  made  for  snatch  and  swallow ;  there  are 
thirty-two  in  each  jaw.  Perhaps  no  animal  in 
existence  bears  more  decided  marks  in  his  coun- 
tenance of  cruelty  and  malice  than  the  cayman. 
He  is  the  scourge  and  terror  of  all  the  large 
rivers  in  South  America  near  the  line. 

Anecdote.  One  Sunday  evening,  some  years  ago,  as  I  was 
walking  with  Don  Felipe  de  Ynciarte,  governor 
of  Angustura,  on  the  bank  of  the  Oroonoque, 
"  Stop  here  a  minute  or  two,  Don  Carlos,"  said 
he  to  me,  "  while  I  recount  a  sad  accident.  One 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  245 

fine  evening  last  year,  as  the  people  of  Angustura    THI*D 
were  sauntering  up  and  down  here,  in  the  Ala-  - 
meda,  I  was  within  twenty  yards  of  this  place, 
when   I   saw  a-  large   cayman  rush   out   of  the 
river,  seize   a  man,  and  carry  him  down,  before 
any  body  had  it  in  his  power  to  assist  him.     The 
screams  of  the  poor  fellow  were  terrible  as  the 
cayman  was  running  off  with  him.     He  plunged 
into  the  river  with  his  prey ;    we  instantly  lost 
sight  of  him,  and  never  saw  or  heard  him  more." 

I  was  a  day  and  a  half  in  dissecting  our  cay- 
man, and  then  we  got  all  ready  to  return  to 
Demerara. 

It  was  much  more  perilous  to  descend  than  to 
ascend  the  falls  in  the  Essequibo. 

The   place  we  had   to  pass  had  proved  fatal  Great  dan- 

.  ger  in  de- 

to   four    Indians   about   a   month    before.      The  wending 

11-11  the  falls  of 

water  foamed,  and  dashed  and   boiled   amongst  the  E«e- 
the  steep  and  craggy  rocks,  and  seemed  to  warn  ql 
us  to  be  careful  how  we  ventured  there. 

I  was  for  all  hands  to  get  out  of  the  canoe, 
and  then,  after  lashing  a  long  rope  ahead  and 
astern,  we  might  have  climbed  from  rock  to  rock, 
and  tempered  her  in  her  passage  down,  and  our 
getting  out  would  have  lightened  her  much. 
But  the  negro  who  had  joined  us  at  Mrs.  Peter- 
son's, said  he  was  sure  it  would  be  safer  to  stay 
in  the  canoe  while  she  went  down  the  fall.  I 
was  loath  to  give  way  to  him;  but  I  did  so  this 
time  against  my  better  judgment,  as  he  assured 


246  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD     me  that  he  was  accustomed  to  pass  and  repass 

JOURNEY. 

— these  falls. 


Accordingly  we  determined  to  push  down :  I 
was  at  the  helm,  the  rest  at  their  paddles.  But 
before  we  got  half  way  through,  the  rushing 
waters  deprived  the  canoe  of  all  power  of  steerage, 
and  she  became  the  sport  of  the  torrent ;  in  a 
second  she  was  half  full  of  water,  and  I  cannot 
comprehend  to  this  day  why  she  did  not  go  down; 
luckily  the  people  exerted  themselves  to  the 
utmost,  she  got  headway,  and  they  pulled  through 
the  whirlpoool :  I  being  quite  in  the  stern  of  the 
canoe,  part  of  a  wave  struck  me,  and  nearly 
knocked  me  overboard. 

We  now  paddled  to  some  rocks  at  a  distance, 
got  out,  unloaded  the  canoe,  and  dried  the  cargo 
in  the  sun,  which  was  very  hot  and  powerful. 
Had  it  been  the  wet  season,  almost  every  thing 
would  have  been  spoiled. 

After  this,  the  voyage  down  the  Essequibo  was 
quick  and  pleasant  till  we  reached  the  sea-coast ; 
there  we  had  a  trying  day  of  it ;  the  wind  was 
dead  against  us,  and  the  sun  remarkably  hot ;  we 
got  twice  aground  upon  a  mudflat,  and  were  twice 
obliged  to  get  out,  up  to  the  middle  in  mud,  to 
shove  the  canoe  through  it.  Half  way  betwixt 
the  Essequibo  and  Demerara  the  tide  of  flood 
caught  us ;  and  after  the  utmost  exertions,  it  was 
half -past  six  in  the  evening  before  we  got  to 
George-town. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  247 

We  had  been  out  from  six  in  the  morning  in    THIED 

JOURNEY. 

an  open  canoe  on  the  sea-coast,  without  umbrella  Reachel 
or  awning,  exposed  all  day  to  the  fiery  rays  of  a 
tropical  sun.  My  face  smarted  so  that  I  could 
get  no  sleep  during  the  night,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing my  lips  were  all  in  blisters.  The  Indian  Yan 
went  down  to  the  Essequibo  a  copper  colour,  but 
the  reflection  of  the  sun  from  the  sea,  and  from 
the  sand-banks  in  the  river,  had  turned  him  nearly 
black.  He  laughed  at  himself,  and  said  the  Indians 
in  the  Demerara  would  not  know  him  again.  I 
staid  one  day  in  George-town,  and  then  set  off  the 
next  morning  for  head-quarters  in  Mibiri  creek, 
where  I  finished  the  cayman. 

Here  the  remaining  time  was  spent  in  collecting 
birds,  and  in  paying  particular  attention  to  their 
haunts  and  economy.  The  rainy  season  having 
set  in,  the  weather  became  bad  and  stormy ;  the 
lightning  and  thunder  were  incessant ;  the  days 
cloudy,  and  the  nights  cold  and  misty.  I  had 
now  been  eleven  months  in  the  forests,  and  col- 
lected some  rare  insects,  two  hundred  and  thirty 
birds,  two  land  tortoises,  five  armadillas,  two  large 
serpents,  a  slotn,  an  ant-bear,  and  a  cayman. 

I  left  the  wilds  and  repaired  to  George-town  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  Mr.  R.  Edmonstone  pre- 
vious to  embarking  for  Europe.  I  must  here 
return  my  sincerest  thanks  to  this  worthy  gentle- 
man for  his  many  kindnesses  to  me  ;  his  friendship 
was  of  the  utmost  service  to  me,  and  he  never 


248  WANDERINGS    IN 


THIRD 
JOURNEY. 


failed  to  send  me  supplies  up  into  the  forest  by 

every  opportunity. 

Embarks         I  embarked  for   England,   on  board  the  Dee 
land.         West-Indiaman,  commanded  by  Captain  Grey. 

Sir  Joseph  Banks  had  often  told  me,  he  hoped 
that  I  would  give  a  lecture  in  public,  on  the  new 
mode  I  had  discovered  of  preparing  specimens  in 
natural  history  for  museums.  I  always  declined 
to  do  so,  as  I  despaired  of  ever  being  able  to  hit 
upon  a  proper  method  of  doing  quadrupeds  ;  and 
I  was  aware  that  it  would  have  been  an  imperfect 
lecture  to  treat  of  birds  only.  I  imparted  what 
little  knowledge  I  was  master  of,  at  Sir  Joseph's, 
to  the  unfortunate  gentlemen  who  went  to  Africa 
to  explore  the  Congo ;  and  that  was  all  that  took 
place  in  the  shape  of  a  lecture.  Now,  that  I  had 
hit  upon  the  way  of  doing  quadrupeds,  I  drew  up 
a  little  plan  on  board  the  Dee,  which  I  trusted 
would  have  been  of  service  to  naturalists ;  and  by 
proving  to  them  the  superiority  of  the  new  plan, 
they  would  probably  be  induced  to  abandon  the 
old  and  common  way,  which  is  a  disgrace  to  the 
present  age,  and  renders  hideous  every  specimen 
in  every  museum  that  I  have  as  yet  visited.  I 
intended  to  have  given  three  lectures  :  one  on 
insects  and  serpents ;  one  on  birds ;  and  one  on 
quadrupeds.  But,  as  it  will  be  shortly  seen,  this 
little  plan  was  doomed  not  to  be  unfolded  to 
public  view.  Illiberality  blasted  it  in  the  bud. 
We  had  a  pleasant  passage  across  the  Atlantic, 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

and  arrived  in  the  Mersey  in  fine  trim  and  (rood    THIRD 

.     .  „  JOURNEY. 

spirits,     (jreat  was  the  attention  I  received  from  - 
the  commander  of  the  Dee.     He  and  his  mate, 
Mr.  Spence,  took  every  care  of  my  collection. 

On  our  landing,  the  gentlemen  of  the  Liverpool  Arme.  at 
Custom-house    received    me    as    an    old    friend  L 
and   acquaintance,  and    obligingly  offered   their 
services. 

Twice  before  had  I  landed  in  Liverpool,  and 
twice  had  I  reason  to  admire  their  conduct  and 
liberality.  They  knew  I  was  incapable  of  trying 
to  introduce  any  thing  contraband,  and  they  were 
aware  that  I  never  dreamed  of  turning  to  profit 
the  specimens  I  had  procured.  They  considered 
that  I  had  left  a  comfortable  home  in  quest  of 
science ;  and  that  I  had  wandered  into  far-distant 
climes,  and  gone  barefooted,  ill  clothed,  and  ill 
fed,  through  swamps  and  woods,  to  procure 
specimens,  some  of  which  had  never  been  seen  in 
Europe.  They  considered  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  fix  a  price  upon  specimens  which  had  never 
been  bought  or  sold ;  and  which  never  were  to 
be ;  as  they  were  intended  to  ornament  my  own 
house.  It  was  hard,  they  said,  to  have  exposed 
myself,  for  years,  to  danger,  and  then  be  obliged 
to  pay  on  returning  to  my  native  land.  Under 
these  considerations,  they  fixed  a  moderate  duty, 
which  satisfied  all  parties. 

However,  this  last  expedition  ended  not  so.     It 
taught  me  how   hard  it   is  to  learn  the  grand 


250  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    lesson.  "  aequam  memento  rebus  in  arduis,  servare 

JOURNEY. 

-  mentem." 

But  my  good  friends  in  the  Custom-house  of 
Liverpool  were  not  to  blame.  On  the  contrary, 
they  did  all  in  their  power  to  procure  balm  for 
me  instead  of  rue.  But  it  would  not  answer. 

They  appointed  a  very  civil  officer  to  attend 
me  to  the  ship.  While  we  were  looking  into  some 
of  the  boxes,  to  see  that  the  specimens  were  pro- 
perly stowed,  previous  to  their  being  conveyed  to 
the  king's  dep6t,  another  officer  entered  the  cabin. 
He  was  an  entire  stranger  to  me,  and  seemed 
wonderfully  aware  of  his  own  consequence.  With- 
out preface  or  apology,  he  thrust  his  head  over 
my  shoulder,  and  said,  we  had  no  business  to  have 
opened  a  single  box  without  his  permission.  I 
answered,  they  had  been  opened  almost  every  day 
since  they  had  come  on  board,  and  that  I  con- 
sidered there  was  no  harm  in  doing  so. 

He  then  left  the  cabin,  and  I  said  to  myself  as 
he  went  out,  I  suspect  I  shall  see  that  man  again 
at  Philippi.  The  boxes,  ten  in  number,  were 
conveyed  in  safety  from  the  ship  to  the  depot,  I 
then  proceeded  to  the  Custom-house.  The  neces- 
sary forms  were  gone  through,  and  a  proportionate 
duty,  according  to  circumstances,  was  paid. 

This  done,  we  returned  from  the  Custom-house 
to  the  depot,  accompanied  by  several  gentlemen 
who  wished  to  see  the  collection.  They  expressed 
themselves  highly  gratified.  The  boxes  were 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  251 

closed,  and  nothing  now  remained  but  to  convey    TII1RD 

-  *     JOURNEY. 

them  to  the  cart,  which  was  in  attendance  at  the 

door  of  the  dep6t.  Just  as  one  of  the  inferior 
officers  was  carrying  a  box  thither,  in  stepped 
the  man  whom  I  suspected  I  should  see  again  at 
Philippi.  He  abruptly  declared  himself  dissatis- 
fied with  the  valuation  which  the  gentlemen  of 
the  customs  had  put  upon  the  collection,  and  said 
he  must  detain  it.  I  remonstrated,  but  it  was  all 
in  vain. 

After  this  pitiful  stretch  of  power,  and  bad  com- 
pliment to  the  other  officers  of  the  customs,  who 
had  been  satisfied  with  the  valuation,  this  man 
had  the  folly  to  take  me  aside,  and  after  assuring 
me  that  he  had  a  great  regard  for  the  arts  and 
sciences,  he  lamented  that  conscience  obliged  him 
to  do  what  he  had  done,  and  he  wished  he  had 
been  fifty  miles  from  Liverpool  at  the  time  that  it 
fell  to  his  lot  to  detain  the  collection.  Had  he 
looked  in  my  face  as  he  said  this,  he  would  have 
seen  no  marks  of  credulity  there. 

I  now  returned  to  the  Custom-house,  and  after 
expressing  my  opinion  of  the  officer's  conduct  at 
the  dep6t,  I  pulled  a  bunch  of  keys  (which 
belonged  to  the  detained  boxes)  out  of  my  pocket, 
laid  them  on  the  table,  took  my  leave  of  the 
gentlemen  present,  and  soon  after  set  off  for 
Yorkshire. 

I  saved  nothing  from  the  grasp  of  the  stranger 
officer,  but  a  pair  of  live  Malay  fowls,  which  a 


252  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    gentleman  in  George-town  had  made  me  a  present 

JOURNEY.     ° 

of.     I  had  collected  in  the  forest  several  eggs  of 

curious  birds,  in  hopes  of  introducing  the  breed 
into  England,  and  had  taken  great  pains  in  doing 
them  over  with  gum  arabic,  and  in  packing  them 
in  charcoal,  according  to  a  receipt  I  had  seen  in 
the  gazette,  from  the  "  Edinburgh  Philosophical 
Journal."  But  these  were  detained  in  the  depot, 
instead  of  being  placed  under  a  hen ;  which 
utterly  ruined  all  my  hopes  of  rearing  a  new 
species  of  birds  in  England.  Titled  personages 
in  London  interested  themselves  in  behalf  of  the 
collection,  but  all  in  vain.  And  vain  also  were 
the  public  and  private  representations  of  the  first 
officer  of  the  Liverpool  Custom-house  in  my 
favour. 

At  last  there  came  an  order  from  the  Treasury 
to  say,  that  any  specimens  Mr.  Waterton  intended 
to  present  to  public  institutions  might  pass  duty 
free ;  but  those  which  he  intended  to  keep  for 
himself  must  pay  the  duty ! 

A  friend  now  wrote  to  me  from  Liverpool, 
requesting  that  I  would  come  over  and  pay  the 
duty,  in  order  to  save  the  collection,  which  had 
just  been  detained  there  six  weeks.  I  did  so. 
On  paying  an  additional  duty,  (for  the  moderate 
duty  first  imposed  had  already  been  paid,)  the 
man  who  had  detained  the  collection,  delivered  it 
up  to  me,  assuring  me  that  it  had  been  well  taken 
care  of,  and  that  a  fire  had  been  frequently  made 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  2").'} 


in  the  room.     It  is  but  justice  to  add,   that  on    THIIll) 

JOURNEY. 

opening  the  boxes,  there  was  nothing  injured. 

I  could  never  get  a  clue  to  these  harsh  and 
unexpected  measures,  except  that  there  had  been 
some  recent  smuggling  discovered  in  Liverpool ; 
and  that  the  man  in  question  had  been  sent  down 
from  London  to  act  the  part  of  Argus.  If  so,  I 
landed  in  an  evil  hour ;  "  nefasto  die ;"  making 
good  the  Spanish  proverb,  "  Pagan  a  las  veces, 
justos  por  pecadores ;"  at  times  the  innocent  suffer 
for  the  guilty.  After  all,  a  little  encouragement, 
in  the  shape  of  exemption  from  paying  the  duty 
on  this  collection,  might  have  been  expected  ;  but 
it  turned  out  otherwise ;  and  after  expending 
large  sums  in  pursuit  of  natural  history,  on  my 
return  home  I  was  doomed  to  pay  for  my 
success : — 

"  Hie  finis,  Caroli  fatorum,  hie  exitus  ilium, 
Sorte  tulit ! " 

Thus,  my  fleece,  already  ragged  and  torn  with 
the  thorns  and  briars,  which  one  must  naturally 
expect  to  find  in  distant  and  untrodden  wilds,  was 
shorn,  I  may  say,  on  its  return  to  England. 

However,  this  is  nothing  new ;  Sancho  Panza  Conclusion, 
must  have  heard  of  similar  cases;  for  he  says, 
"  Muchos  van  por  lana,  y  vuelven  trasquilados ;" 
many  go  for  wool,  and  come  home  shorn.  In 
order  to  pick  up  matter  for  natural  history,  I 
have  wandered  through  the  wildest  parts  of  South 


254  WANDERINGS    IN 

THIRD    America's    equatorial    regions.     I   have   attacked 

JOURNEY. 

and  slain  a  modern  Python,  and  rode  on  the  back 
of  a  cayman  close  to  the  water's  edge ;  a  very 
different  situation  from  that  of  a  Hyde-park  dandy 
on  his  Sunday  prancer  before  the  ladies.  Alone 
and  barefoot  I  have  pulled  poisonous  snakes  out 
of  their  lurking  places  ;  climbed  up  trees  to  peep 
into  holes  for  bats  and  vampires,  and  for  days 
together  hastened  through  sun  and  rain  to  the 
thickest  parts  of  the  forest  to  procure  specimens 
I  had  never  got  before.  In  fine,  I  have  pursued 
the  wild  beasts  over  hill  and  dale,  through  swamps 
and  quagmires,  now  scorched  by  the  noon-day 
sun,  now  drenched  by  the  pelting  shower,  and 
returned  to  the  hammock,  to  satisfy  the  cravings 
of  hunger,  often  on  a  poor  and  scanty  supper. 

These  vicissitudes  have  turned  to  chestnut  hue 
a  once  English  complexion,  and  changed  the 
colour  of  my  hair,  before  father  Time  had  med- 
dled with  it.  The  detention  of  the  collection  after 
it  had  fairly  passed  the  Customs,  and  the  subse- 
quent order  from  the  Treasury  that  I  should  pay 
duty  for  the  specimens,  unless  they  were  presented 
to  some  public  institution,  have  cast  a  damp  upon 
my  energy,  and  forced,  as  it  were,  the  cup  of 
Lethe  to  my  lips,  by  drinking  which  I  have  forgot 
my  former  intention  of  giving  a  lecture  in  public 
on  preparing  specimens  to  adorn  museums.  In 
fine,  it  is  this  ungenerous  treatment  that  has 
paralyzed  my  plans,  and  caused  me  to  give  up 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  25."> 


JOURNEY. 


the  idea  I  once  had  of  inserting  here  the  newly     THIRD 
discovered   mode  of  preparing   quadrupeds   and 
serpents ;  and  without  it,  the  account  of  this  last 
expedition  to  the  wilds  of  Guiana  is  nothing  but 
a — fragment. 

Farewell,  Gentle  Reader. 


WANDERINGS    IN 


FOURTH    JOURNEY. 


"  Nunc  hue,  mine  illuc  et  utrinque  sine  ordine  curro." 


FOURTH    COURTEOUS  reader,  when  I  bade  thee  last  fare- 

JOURNEY.  . 

-well,  1  thought  these  wanderings  were  brought 
to  a  final  close ;  afterwards  I  often  roved  in 
imagination  through  distant  countries  famous  for 
natural  history,  but  felt  no  strong  inclination  to 
go  thither,  as  the  last  adventure  had  terminated 
in  such  unexpected  vexation.  The  departure  of 
the  cuckoo  and  swallow,  and  summer  birds  of 
passage,  for  warmer  regions,  once  so  interesting 
to  me,  now  scarcely  caused  me  to  turn  my  face 
to  the  south;  and  I  continued  in  this  cold  and 
dreary  climate  for  three  years.  During  this 
period,  I  seldom  or  ever  mounted  my  hobby- 
horse ;  indeed,  it  may  be  said,  with  the  old  song — 

"  The  saddle  and  bridle  were  laid  on  the  shelf," 

and  only  taken  down  once,  on  the  night  that  I 
was  induced  to  give  a  lecture  in  the  philosophical 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  O.*7 

hall    of    Leeds.     A    little    after    this,    Wilson's   f0"**" 
"  Ornithology  of   the    United    States"   fell    into  - 
my  hands. 

The  desire   I  had  of  seeing  that  country, 


gether  with  the  animated  description  which  Wilson 
had  given  of  the  birds,  fanned  up  the  almost 
expiring  flame.  I  forgot  the  vexations  already 
alluded  to,  and  set  off  for  -New  York,  in  the 
beautiful  packet  John  Wells,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Harris.  The  passage  was  long  and  cold; 
but  the  elegant  accommodations  on  board,  and 
the  polite  attention  of  the  commander,  rendered 
it  very  agreeable  ;  and  I  landed,  in  health  and  mer- 
riment, in  the  stately  capital  of  the  new  world. 

We  will  soon  pen  down  a  few  remarks  on  this 
magnificent  city,  but  not  just  now.  I  want  to 
venture  into  the  north-west  country,  and  get  to 
their  great  canal,  which  the  world  talks  so  much 
about,  though  I  fear  it  will  be  hard  work  to 
make  one's  way  through  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and 
buffaloes,  which  we  Europeans  imagine  are  so 
frequent  and  ferocious  in  these  never-ending 
western  wilds. 

I  left  New  York  on  a  fine  morning  in  July, 
without  one  letter  of  introduction,  for  the  city  of 
Albany,  some  hundred  and  eighty  miles  up  the 
celebrated  Hudson.  I  seldom  care  about  letters 
of  introduction,  for  I  am  one  of  those  who  depend 
much  upon  an  accidental  acquaintance.  Full  many 
a  face  do  I  see,  as  I  go  wandering  up  and  down 


258  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    the  world,  whose  mild  eye.  and  sweet  and  placid 

JOURNEY.  •      ' 

— features,   seem  to  beckon  to  me,  and  say,  as  it 

were,  "  Speak  but  civilly  to  me,  and  I  will  do 
what  I  can  for  you. '  Such  a  face  as  this  is  worth 
more  than  a  dozen  letters  of  introduction ;  and 
such  a  face,  gentle  reader,  I  found  on  board  the 
steam-boat  from  New  York  to  the  city  of  Albany. 

There  was  a  great  number  of  well-dressed 
ladies  and  gentlemen  in  the  vessel,  all  entire 
strangers  to  me.  I  fancied  I  could  see  several, 
whose  countenances  invited  an  unknown  wan- 
derer to  come  and  take  a  seat  beside  them  ;  but 
there  was  one  who  encouraged  me  more  than  the 
rest.  I  saw  clearly  that  he  was  an  American,  and 
I  judged,  by  his  manners  and  appearance,  that  he 
had  not  spent  all  his  time  upon  his  native  soil.  I 
was  right  in  this  conjecture,  for  he  afterwards 
told  me  that  he  had  been  in  France  and  England. 
I  saluted  him  as  one  stranger  gentleman  ought 
to  salute  another  when  he  wants  a  little  in- 
formation ;  and  soon  after,  I  dropped  in  a  word 
or  two  by  which  he  might  conjecture  that  I  was 
a  foreigner ;  but  I  did  not  tell  him  so ;  I  wished 
him  to  make  the  discovery  himself. 

He  entered  into  conversation  with  the  open- 
ness and  candour  which  is  so  remarkable  in  the 
American ;  and  in  a  little  time  observed  that  he 
presumed  I  was  from  the  old  country.  I  told 
him  that  I  was,  and  added,  that  I  was  an  entire 
stranger  on  board.  I  saw  his  eye  brighten  up  at 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  259 

the  prospect  he  had  of  doing  a  fellow-creature  a 

. 

kind  turn  or  two,  and  he  completely  won  my  regard 
by  an  affability  which  I  shall  never  forget.  This 
obliging  gentleman  pointed  out  every  thing  that 
was  grand  and  interesting  as  the  steam-boat  plied 
her  course  up  the  majestic  Hudson.  Here  the 
Catskill  mountains  raised  their  lofty  summit ;  and 
there  the  hills  came  sloping  down  to  the  water's 
edge.  Here  he  pointed  to  an  aged  and  venerable 
oak,  which  having  escaped  the  levelling  axe  of 
man,  seemed  almost  to  defy  the  blasting  storm, 
and  desolating  hand  of  time ;  and  there,  he  bade 
me  observe  an  extended  tract  of  wood,  by  which 
I  might  form  an  idea  how  rich  and  grand  the  face 
of  the  country  had  once  been.  Here  it  was 
that,  in  the  great  and  momentous  struggle,  the 
colonists  lost  the  day ;  and  there,  they  carried  all 
before  them : — 

"  They  closed  full  fast,  on  every  side 

No  slackness  there  was  found  ; 
And  many  a  gallant  gentleman 
Lay  gasping  on  the  ground." 

Here,  in  fine,  stood  a  noted  regiment;  there, 
moved  their  great  captain;  here,  the  fleets  fired 
their  broadsides;  and  there,  the  whole  force 
rushed  on  to  battle : — 

"  Hie  Dolopum  manus,  hie  magnus  tendebat  Achilles, 
Classibus  hie  locus,  hie  acies  certare  solebat ." 

At  tea-time  we  took  our  tea  together,  and  the 
next  morning  this  worthy  American  walked  up 

s  2 


260  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    with  me  to  the  inn  in  Albany,  shook  me  by  the 

JOURNEY. 

-  hand,  and  then  went  his  way.  I  bade  him  farewell, 
and  again  farewell,  and  hoped  that  fortune  might 
bring  us  together  again  once  more.  Possibly  she 
may  yet  do  so ;  and  should  it  be  in  England, 
I  will  take  him  to  my  house,  as  an  old  friend  and 
acquaintance,  and  offer  him  my  choicest  cheer. 

The  great  It  is  at  Albany  that  the  great  canal  opens  into 
the  Hudson,  and  joins  the  waters  of  this  river  to 
those  of  Lake  Erie.  The  Hudson,  at  the  city  of 
Albany,  is  distant  from  Lake  Erie  about  three 
hundred  and  sixty  miles.  The  level  of  the  lake 
is  five  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  higher  than  the 
Hudson,  and  there  are  eighty-one  locks  on  the 
canal.  It  is  to  the  genius  arid  perseverance  of 
De  Witt  Clinton,  that  the  United  States  owe  the 
almost  incalculable  advantages  of  this  inland  navi- 
gation. "  Exegit  monumentum  aere  perennius." 
You  may  either  go  along  it  all  the  way  to  Buffalo, 
on  Lake  Erie,  or  by  the  stage ;  or  sometimes  on 
one  and  then  in  the  other,  just  as  you  think  fit. 

scenery.  Grand,  indeed,  is  the  scenery  by  either  route,  and 
capital  the  accommodations.  Cold  and  phlegma- 
tic must  he  be  who  is  not  warmed  into  admiration 
by  the  surrounding  scenery,  and  charmed  with  the 
affability  of  the  travellers  he  meets  on  the  way. 

This  is  now  the  season  of  roving,  arid  joy  and 
merriment  for  the  gentry  of  this  happy  country. 
Thousands  are  on  the  move  from  different  parts 
of  the  Union  for  the  springs  and  lakes,  and  the 


Jornsi v. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  261 

falls  of  Niagara.  There  is  nothing  haughty  or 
forbidding  in  the  Americans;  and  wherever  you 
meet  them,  they  appear  to  be  quite  at  home. 
This  is  exactly  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  very 
much  in  favour  of  the  foreigner  who  journeys 
amongst  them.  The  immense  number  of  highly 
polished  females  who  go  in  the  stages  to  visit 
the  different  places  of  amusement,  and  see  the 
stupendous  natural  curiosities  of  this  extensive 
country,  incontestably  proves  that  safety  and  con- 
venience are  ensured  to  them,  and  that  the  most 
distant  attempt  at  rudeness  would,  by  common 
consent,  be  immediately  put  down. 

By  the  time  I  had  got  to  Schenectady,  I  began 
strongly  to  suspect  that  I  had  come  into  the 
wrong  country  to  look  for  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and 
buffaloes.  It  is  an  enchanting  journey  from  Al- 
bany to  Schenectady,  and  from  thence  to  Lake 
Erie.  The  situation  of  the  city  of  Utica  is  par- 
ticularly attractive  ;  the  Mohawk  running  close 
by  it,  the  fertile  fields  and  woody  mountains,  and 
the  falls  of  Trenton,  forcibly  press  the  stranger  to 
stop  a  day  or  two  here,  before  he  proceeds  onward 
to  the  lake. 

At  some  far  distant  period,  when  it  will  not  be 
possible  to  find  the  place  where  many  of  the  cele- 
brated cities  of  the  East  once  stood,  the  world 
will  have  to  thank  the  United  States  of  America 
for  bringing  their  names  into  the  western  regions. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  pretty  thought  of  these  people  to 


262  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH   give  to  their  rising  towns  the  names  of  places  so 

JOURNEY.     c 

famous  and  conspicuous  in  former  times. 

As  I  was  sitting  one  evening  under  an  oak,  in 
the  high  grounds  behind  Utica,  I  could  not  look 
down  upon  the  city  without  thinking  of  Cato 
and  his  misfortunes.  Had  the  town  been  called 
Crofton,  or  Waraifield,  or  Dewsbury,  there  would 
have  been  nothing  remarkable  in  it ;  but  Utica 
at  once  revived  the  scenes  at  school  long  past  and 
half-forgotten,  and  carried  me  with  full  speed 
back  again  to  Italy,  and  from  thence  to  Africa. 
I  crossed  the  Rubicon  with  Caesar ;  fought  at 
Pharsalia;  saw  poor  Pompey  into  Larissa,  and 
tried  to  wrest  the  fatal  sword  from  Cato's  hand 
in  Utica.  When  I  perceived  he  was  no  more, 
I  mourned  over  the  noble-minded  man  who  took 
that  part  which  he  thought  would  most  benefit 
his  country,  There  is  something  magnificent  in 
the  idea  of  a  man  taking  by  choice  the  conquered 
side.  The  Roman  gods  themselves  did  otherwise. 

"  Victrix  causa  Diis  placuit,  sed  victa  Catoni." 

"  In  this  did  Cato  with  the  Gods  divide, 
They  chose  the  conquering,  he  the  conquer'd  side." 

The  whole  of  the  country  from  Utica  to  Buffalo 
is  pleasing;  and  the  intervening  of  the  inland 
lakes,  large  and  deep  and  clear,  adds  considerably 
to  the  effect.  The  spacious  size  of  the  inns,  their 
excellent  provisions,  and  the  attention  which  the 
traveller  receives  in  going  from  Albany  to  Buffalo, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  263 

must  at  once  convince  him  that  this  country  is   FOUETH 

J  JOUBKET. 

very  much  visited  by  strangers  ;  and  he  will  draw 
the  conclusion  that  there  must  be  something  in 
it  uncommonly  interesting  to  cause  so  many 
travellers  to  pass  to  and  fro. 

Nature  is  losing  fast  her  ancient  garb,  and 
putting  on  a  new  dress  in  these  extensive  regions. 
Most  of  the  stately  timber  has  been  carried 
away ;  thousands  of  trees  are  lying  prostrate  on 
the  ground ;  while  meadows,  corn-fields,  villages, 
and  pastures  are  ever  and  anon  bursting  upon 
the  traveller's  view  as  he  journeys  on  through  the 
remaining  tracts  of  wood.  I  wish  I  could  say 
a  word  or  two  for  the  fine  timber  which  is  yet 
standing.  Spare  it,  gentle  inhabitants,  for  your 
country's  sake ;  these  noble  sons  of  the  forest 
beautify  your  landscapes  beyond  all  description; 
when  they  are  gone,  a  century  will  not  replace 
their  loss ;  they  cannot,  they  must  not  fall ;  their 
vernal  bloom,  their  summer  richness,  and  au- 
tumnal tints,  please  and  refresh  the  eye  of  man ; 
and  even  when  the  days  of  joy  and  warmth  are 
fled,  the  wintry  blast  soothes  the  listening  ear 
with  a  sublime  and  pleasing  melancholy  as  it 
howls  through  their  naked  branches. 

"  Around  me  trees  unnumber'd  rise, 
Beautiful  in  various  dyes. 
The  gloomy  pine,  the  poplar  blue, 
The  yellow  beech,  the  sable  yew ; 
The  slender  fir,  that  taper  grows, 
The  sturdy  oak,  with  broad-spread  boughs." 


264  WANDERINGS    IN 


FOURTH 
JOURNEY. 


A  few  miles  before  you  reach  Buffalo,  the  road 
—  is  low  and  bad,  and,  in  stepping  out  of  the  stage, 
I  sprained  my  foot  very  severely ;  it  swelled  to 
a  great  size,  and  caused  me  many  a  day  of  pain 
and  mortification,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 

Buffalo.  Buffalo  looks  down  on  Lake  Erie,  and  pos- 
sesses a  fine  and  commodious  inn.  At  a  little 
distance  is  the  Black  Rock,  and  there  you  pass 
over  to  the  Canada  side.  A  stage  is  in  waiting 
to  convey  you  some  sixteen  or  twenty  miles  down 
to  the  falls.  Long  before  you  reach  the  spot  you 
hear  the  mighty  roar  of  waters,  and  see  the  spray 
of  the  far-famed  falls  of  Niagara,  rising  up  like 
a  column  to  the  heavens,  and  mingling  with  the 
passing  clouds. 

The  fails  of  At  this  stupendous  cascade  of  nature,  the  waters 
of  the  lake  fall  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet 
perpendicular.  It  has  been  calculated,  I  forget 
by  whom,  that  the  quantity  of  water  discharged 
down  this  mighty  fall,  is  six  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  tons  per 
minute.  There  are  two  large  inns  on  the  Canada 
side;  but,  after  you  have  satisfied  your  curiosity 
in  viewing  the  falls,  and  in  seeing  the  rainbow  in 
the  foam  far  below  where  you  are  standing,  do 
not,  I  pray  you,  tarry  long  at  either  of  them. 
Cross  over  to  the  American  side,  and  there  you 
will  find  a  spacious  inn,  which  has  nearly  all  the 
attractions ;  there  you  meet  with  great  attention> 
and  every  accommodation. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  265 

The  day  is  passed  in  looking  at  the  falls,  and   FOURTH 
in  sauntering  up  and  down  the  wooded  and  rocky  JOUKNt!T' 
environs  of  the  Niagara;  and  the  evening  is  often 
enlivened  by  the  merry  dance. 

Words  can  hardly  do  justice  to  the  unaffected  American 
ease  and  elegance  of  the  American  ladies  who  visit Ul 
the  falls  of  Niagara.     The  traveller  need  not  rove 
in  imagination  through  Circassia  in  search  of  fine 
forms,  or  through  England,  France,  and  Spain, 
to  meet  with  polished  females.    The  numbers  who 
are   continually  arriving   from   all   parts   of  the 
Union  confirm  the  justness  of  this  remark. 

I  was  looking  one  evening  at  a  dance,  being 
unable  to  join  in  it  on  account  of  the  accident  I 
had  received  near  Buffalo,  when  a  young  Ameri- 
can entered  the  ball-room  with  such  a  becoming 
air  and  grace,  that  it  was  impossible  not  to  have 
been  struck  with  her  appearance. 

"  Her  bloom  was  like  the  springing  flower 

That  sips  the  silver  dew, 
The  rose  was  budded  in  her  cheek, 
Just  opening  to  the  view." 

I  could  not  help  feeling  a  wish  to  know  where 

she  had 

"  Into  such  beauty  spread,  and  blown  so  fair." 

Upon  inquiry,  I  found  that  she  was  from  the  city 
of  Albany.  The  more  I  looked  at  the  fair  Alba- 
nese,  the  more  I  was  convinced,  that  in  the 


266  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    United  States  of  America  may  be  found   grace 

JOURNEY. 

; and  beauty  and  symmetry  equal  to  any  thing  in 

the  old  world. 

I  now  for  good  and  all  (and  well  I  might)  gave 
up  the  idea  of  finding  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and 
buffaloes  in  this  country,  and  was  thoroughly 
satisfied  that  I  had  laboured  under  a  great 
mistake  in  suspecting  that  I  should  ever  meet 
with  them. 

I  wished  to  join  in  the  dance  where  the  fair 
Albanese  was  "  to  brisk  notes  in  cadence  beating," 
but  the  state  of  my  unlucky  foot  rendered  it 
impossible ;  and  as  I  sat  with  it  reclined  upon  a 
sofa,  full  many  a  passing  gentleman  stopped  to 
inquire  the  cause  of  my  misfortune,  presuming  at 
the  same  time  that  I  had  got  an  attack  of  gout. 
Now  this  surmise  of  theirs  always  mortified  me  ; 
for  I  never  had  a  fit  of  gout  in  my  life,  and, 
moreover,  never  expect  to  have  one. 

In  many  of  the  inns  in  the  United  States,  there 
is  an  album  on  the  table,  in  which  travellers 
insert  their  arrival  and  departure,  and  now  and 
then  indulge  in  a  little  flash  or  two  of  wit. 

I  thought,  under  existing  circumstances,  that 
there  would  be  no  harm  in  briefly  telling  my 
misadventure;  and  so  taking  up  the  pen,  I  wrote 
what  follows ;  and  was  never  after  asked  a  single 
question  about  the  gout. 

"  C.  Waterton,  of  Walton-hall,  in  the  county 
of  York,  England,  arrived  at  the  falls  of  Niagara, 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  267 

in  July,  1824,  and  begs  leave  to  pen  down  the    w»«wu 
following  dreadful  accident: — 

"  He  sprained  his  foot,  and  hurt  his  toe, 
On  the  rough  road  near  Buffalo. 
It  quite  distresses  him  to  stagger  a- 
Long  the  sharp  rocks  of  famed  Niagara. 
So  thus  he's  doomed  to  drink  the  measure 
Of  pain,  in  lieu  of  that  of  pleasure. 
On  Hope's  delusive  pinions  borne 
He  came  for  wool,  and  goes  back  shorn. 
N.  B. — Here  he  alludes  to  nothing  but 
Th'  adventure  of  his  toe  and  foot ; 
Save  this, — he  sees  all  that  which  can 
Delight  and  charm  the  soul  of  man, 
But  feels  it  not, — because  his  toe 
And  foot  together  plague  him  so." 

I  remember  once  to  have  sprained  my  ancle 
very  violently  many  years  ago,  and  that  the 
doctor  ordered  me  to  hold  it  under  the  pump  two 
or  three  times  a  day.  Now,  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  all  is  upon  a  grand  scale,  except 
taxation ;  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  traveller's 
ideas  become  much  more  enlarged  as  he  journeys 
through  the  country.  This  being  the  case,  I  can 
easily  account  for  the  desire  I  felt  to  hold  my 
sprained  foot  under  the  fall  of  Niagara.  I  de- 
scended the  winding  staircase  which  has  been 
made  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  and 
then  hobbled  on  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  I 
held  my  leg  under  the  fall,  I  tried  to  meditate 
on  the  immense  difference  there  was  betwixt  a 


268  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FOURTH   house    pump    and   this    tremendous    cascade    of 

iwrrawfecw 

nature,  and  what  effect  it  might  have  upon  the 
sprain ;  but  the  magnitude  of  the  subject  was  too 
overwhelming,  and  I  was  obliged  to  drop  it. 

Perhaps,  indeed,  there  was  an  unwarrantable 
tincture  of  vanity  in  an  unknown  wanderer  wish- 
ing to  have  it  in  his  power  to  tell  the  world, 
that  he  had  held  his  sprained  foot  under  a  fall  of 
water,  which  discharges  six  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  tons  per 
minute.  A  gentle  purling  stream  would  have 
suited  better.  Now,  it  would  have  become  Wash- 
ington to  have  quenched  his  battle-thirst  in  the 
fall  of  Niagara;  and  there  was  something  royal 
in  the  idea  of  Cleopatra  drinking  pearl-vinegar, 
made  from  the  grandest  pearl  in  Egypt :  and  it 
became  Caius  Marius  to  send  word,  that  he  was 
sitting  upon  the  rains  of  Carthage.  Here,  we 
have  the  person  suited  to  the  thing,  and  the  thing 
to  the  person. 

If,  gentle  reader,  thou  wouldst  allow  me  to  in- 
dulge a  little  longer  in  this  harmless  pen-errantry, 
I  would  tell  thee,  that  I  have  had  my  ups  and 
downs  in  life,  as  well  as  other  people ;  for 
I  have  climbed  to  the  point  of  the  conductor 
above  the  cross  on  the  top  of  St.  Peter's,  in 
Rome,  and  left  my  glove  there.  I  have  stood  on 
one  foot,  upon  the  Guardian  Angel's  head,  on 
the  castle  of  St.  Angelo ;  and,  as  I  have  just 
told  thee,  I  have  been  low  down  under  the  fall  of 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

Niagara.  But  this  is  neither  here  nor  there ;  let 
us  proceed  to  something  else. 

When  the  pain  of  my  foot  had  become  less 
violent,  and  the  swelling  somewhat  abated,  I 
could  not  resist  the  inclination  I  felt  to  go  down 
Ontario,  and  so  on  to  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and 
take  Lakes  Champlain  and  George  in  my  way 
back  to  Albany. 

Just  as  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  it,  a  family 
from  the  Bowling-green,  in  New  York,  who  was 
going  the  same  route,  politely  invited  me  to  join 
their  party.  Nothing  could  be  more  fortunate. 
They  were  highly  accomplished.  The  young 
ladies  sang  delightfully ;  and  all  contributed  their 
portion,  to  render  the  tour  pleasant  and  amusing. 

Travellers  have  already  filled  the  world  with 
descriptions  of  the  bold  and  sublime  scenery  from 
Lake  Erie  to  Quebec  : — 

"  The  fountain's  fall,  the  river's  flow, 
The  woody  valleys,  warm  and  low ; 
The  windy  summit,  wild  and  high, 
Roughly  rushing  to  the  sky." 

And  there  is  scarce  one  of  them  who  has  not 
described  the  achievements  of  former  and  latter 
times,  on  the  different  battle-grounds.  Here, 
great  Wolfe  expired.  Brave  Montcalm  was  car- 
ried, mortally  wounded,  through  yonder  gate. 
Here  fell  the  gallant  Brock ;  and  there  General 
Sheaffee  captured  all  the  invaders.  And  in 
yonder  harbour  may  be  seen  the  mouldering 


270  WANDERINGS  IN 

FOURTH   remnants  of  British  vessels.     Their  hour  of  mis- 

JOURNF.Y. 

fortune  has  long  passed  away.     The  victors  have 

now  no  use  for  them  in  an  inland  lake.  Some 
have  already  sunk,  while  others,  dismantled  and 
half-dismasted,  are  just  above  the  water,  waiting, 
in  shattered  state,  that  destiny  which  must  sooner 
or  later  destroy  the  fairest  works  of  man. 

The  excellence  and  despatch  of  the  steam- 
boats, together  with  the  company  which  the  tra- 
veller is  sure  to  meet  with  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  render  the  trip  down,  to  Montreal  and 
Quebec  very  agreeable. 

TheCana-       The  Canadians  are  a  quiet,  and  apparently  a 

dians. 

happy  people.  They  are  very  courteous  and 
affable  to  strangers.  On  comparing  them  with 
the  character  which  a  certain  female  traveller,  a 
journalist,  has  thought  fit  to  give  them,  the 
stranger  might  have  great  doubts  whether  or 
not  he  were  amongst  the  Canadians. 
Fortifica-  Montreal,  Quebec,  and  the  falls  of  Montmo- 

tions  at 

Quebec,  rency,  are  well  worth  going  to  see.  They  are 
making  tremendous  fortifications  at  Quebec.  It 
will  be  the  Gibraltar  of  the  new  world.  When 
one  considers  its  distance  from  Europe,  and  takes 
a  view  of  its  powerful  and  enterprising  neighbour, 
Virgil's  remark  at  once  rushes  into  the  mind, 

"  Sic  vos  non  vobis  nidificatis  aves." 

I  left  Montreal  with  regret.  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  introduced  to  the  Professors  of  the 
College.  These  fathers  are  a  very  learned  and 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  271 

worthy  set  of  gentlemen ;  and  on  my  taking  leave 
of  them,  I  felt  a  heaviness  at  heart,  in  reflecting 
that  I  had  not  more  time  to  cultivate  their 
acquaintance. 

In  all  the  way  from  Buffalo  to  Quebec,  I  only 
met  with  one  bug ;  and  I  cannot  even  swear  that 
it  belonged  to  the  United  States.  In  going  down 
the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  steam-boat,  I  felt  some- 
thing crossing  over  my  neck  ;  and  on  laying  hold 
of  it  with  my  finger  and  thumb,  it  turned  out  to 
be  a  little  half-grown,  ill-conditioned  bug.  Now, 
whether  it  were  going  from  the  American  to  the 
Canada  side,  or  from  the  Canada  to  the  American, 
and  had  taken  the  advantage  of  my  shoulders 
to  ferry  itself  across,  I  could  not  tell.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  I  thought  of  my  uncle  Toby  and  the  fly  ; 
and  so,  in  lieu  of  placing  it  upon  the  deck, 
and  then  putting  my  thumb-nail  vertically  upon 
it,  I  quietly  chucked  it  amongst  some  baggage 
that  was  close  by,  and  recommended  it  to  get 
ashore  by  the  first  opportunity. 

When  we  had  seen  all  that  was  worth  seeing  in 
Quebec  and  at  the  falls  of  Montmorency,  and  had 
been  on  board  the  enormous  ship  Columbus,  we 
returned  for  a  day  or  two  to  Montreal,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Saratoga  by  Lakes  Champlain  and 
George. 

The  steam-boat  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  had 
above  five  hundred  Irish  emigrants  on  board. 
They  were  going  "  they  hardly  knew  whither," 


WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH   far  away  from  dear  Ireland.     It  made  one's  heart 

JOURNEY. 

ache   to  see  them  all  huddled   together,  without 

any  expectation  of  ever  revisiting  their  native 
soil.  We  feared  that  the  sorrow  of  leaving  home 
for  ever,  the  miserable  accommodations  on  board 
the  ship  which  had  brought  them  away,  and  the 
tossing  of  the  angry  ocean,  in  a  long  and  dreary 
voyage,  would  have  rendered  them  callous  to 
good  behaviour.  But  it  was  quite  otherwise. 
They  conducted  themselves  with  great  propriety. 
Every  American  on  board  seemed  to  feel  for  them. 
And  then  "  they  were  so  full  of  wretchedness. 
Need  and  oppression  starved  in  their  eyes. 
Upon  their  backs  hung  ragged  misery.  The 
world  was  not  their  friend."  Poor  dear  Ireland, 
exclaimed  an  aged  female,  as  I  was  talking  to 
her,  I  shall  never  see  it  any  more !  and  then  her 
tears  began  to  flow.  Probably  the  scenery  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  recalled  to  her  mind 
the  remembrance  of  spots  once  interesting  to  her  : 

"  The  lovely  daughter, — lovelier  in  her  tears, 
The  fond  companion  of  her  father's  years, 
Here  silent  stood,— neglectful  of  her  charms, 
And  left  her  lover's  for  her  father's  arms. 
With  louder  plaints  the  mother  spoke  her  woes, 
And  blessed  the  cot  where  every  pleasure  rose ; 
And  pressed  her  thoughtless  babes,  with  many  a  tear, 
And  clasped  them  close,  in  sorrow  doubly  dear. 
While  the  fond  husband  strove  to  lend  relief, 
In  all  the  silent   manliness  of  grief." 

We  went  a  few  miles  out  of  our  route  to  take 
a  look  at  the  once  formidable  fortress  of  Ticon- 


JOURNEY. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  273 

derago.     It  has  long  been  in  ruins,  and  seems  as 

.       . 

if  it  were  doomed  to  moulder  quite  away. 

"  Ever  and  anon  there  falls 
Huge   heaps  of  hoary  moulder'd  walls. 
But  time  has  seen,  that  lifts  the  low 
And  level  lays  the  lofty  brow, 
Has  seen  this  ruin'd  pile  complete, 
Big  with  the  vanity  of  state, 
But  transient  is  the  smile  of  fate." 

The  scenery  of  Lake  George  is  superb  ;  the 
inn  remarkably  spacious  and  well  attended  ;  and 
the  conveyances  from  thence  to  Saratoga,  very  Saratoga. 
good.  He  must  be  sorely  afflicted  with  spleen  and 
jaundice,  who,  on  his  arrival  at  Saratoga,  remarks, 
there  is  nothing  here  worth  coming  to  see.  It  is 
a  gay  and  fashionable  place  ;  has  four  uncom- 
monly fine  hotels  ;  its  waters,  for  medicinal  vir- 
tues, are  surpassed  by  none  in  the  known  world  ; 
and  it  is  resorted  to,  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
summer,  by  foreigners  and  natives  of  the  first 
consideration.  Saratoga  pleased  me  much  ;  and 
afforded  a  fair  opportunity  of  forming  a  pretty 
correct  idea  of  the  gentry  of  the  United  States. 

There  is  a  pleasing  frankness,  and  ease  and 
becoming  dignity  in  the  American  ladies  ;  and 
the  good  humour,  and  absence  of  all  haughtiness 
and  puppyism  in  the  gentlemen,  must,  no  doubt, 
impress  the  traveller  with  elevated  notions  of  the 
company  who  visit  this  famous  spa. 

During  my  stay  here,  all  was  joy,  and  affability, 
T 


274  WANDERINGS    IN 


FOURTH   and  mirth.     In  the  mornings  the  ladies  played 

JOURNEY. 

and  sang  for  us ;  and  the  evenings  were  generally 

enlivened  with  the  merry  dance.  Here  I  bade 
farewell  to  the  charming  family,  in  whose  com- 
pany I  had  passed  so  many  happy  days,  and 
proceeded  to  Albany. 

The  stage  stopped  a  little  while  in  the  town 
Troy,  of  Troy.  The  name  alone  was  quite  sufficient 
to  recall  to  the  mind  scenes  long  past  and  gone. 
Poor  king  Priam!  Napoleon's  sorrows,  sad  and 
piercing  as  they  were,  did  not  come  up  to  those 
of  this  ill-fated  monarch.  The  Greeks  first  set 
his  town  on  fire,  and  then  began  to  bully : — 

"  Incensa  Danai  dominantur  in  urbe." 

One  of  his  sons  was  slain  before  his  face ;  "  ante 
ora  parentum,  concidit."  Another  was  crushed 
to  mummy  by  boa  constrictors ;  "  immensis  or- 
bibus  angues."  His  city  was  rased  to  the  ground, 
"  jacet  Ilion  ingens."  And  Pyrrhus  ran  him 
through  with  his  sword,  "  capulo  tenus  abdidit 
ensem."  This  last  may  be  considered  as  a  for- 
tunate stroke  for  the  poor  old  king.  Had  his 
life  been  spared  at  this  juncture,  he  could  not 
have  lived  long.  He  must  have  died  broken- 
hearted. He  would  have  seen  his  son-in-law, 
once  master  of  a  noble  stud,  now,  for  want  of 
a  horse,  obliged  to  carry  off  his  father,  up  hill, 
on  his  own  back,  "  cessi  et  sublato,  montem 
genitore  petivi."  He  would  have  heard  of  his 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  "275 

grandson  beinar  thrown  neck  and  heels  from  a  high 

J 

tower,  "  mittitur  Astyanax  illis  de  turribus."  He 
would  have  been  informed  of  his  wife  tearing  out 
the  eyes  of  king  Odrysius  with  her  finger  nails, 
"  digitos  in  perfida  lumina  condit."  Soon  after 
this,  losing  all  appearance  of  woman,  she  became 
a  bitch, 

"  Perclidit  infelix,  hominis  post  omnia  formam," 

and  rent  the  heavens  with  her  howlings, 

"  Externasque  novo  latratu  terruit  auras." 

Then,  becoming  distracted  with  the  remembrance 
of  her  misfortunes,  "veterum  memor  ilia  malo- 
rum,"  she  took  off  howling  into  the  fields  of 
Thrace, — 

"Turn  quoque  Sithonios,  ululavit  moesta  per  agros." 

Juno,  Jove's  wife  and  sister,  was  heard  to  declare, 
that  poor  Hecuba  did  not  deserve  so  terrible 
a  fate, — 

"  Ipsa  Jovis  conjuxque  sororque, 
Eventus  Hecubara  meruisse  negaverit  illos." 

Had  poor  Priam  escaped  from  Troy,  one  thing, 
and  only  one  thing,  would  have  given  him  a  small 
ray  of  satisfaction,  viz.  he  would  have  heard  of 
one  of  his  daughters  nobly  preferring  to  leave 
this  world,  rather  than  live  to  become  servant- 
maid  to  old  Grecian  ladies: — 

"  Non  ego  Myrmidonum  st-des,  Dolopumve  superbas, 
Adspiciam,  aut  Graiis  servitum  matribus  ibo." 

At   some  future   period,  should  a  foreign  armed 

T  2 


276  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    force,  or  intestine  broils,  (all  which  heaven  avert,) 

JOURNEY.  x  y 

-  raise    Troy  to  the    dignity    of    a   fortified   city, 
Virgil's  prophecy  may  then  be  fulfilled, 

"  Atque  iterum  ad  Trojam  magnus  raittetur  Achilles." 

After  leaving    Troy,    I   passed    through   a   fine 
country  to  Albany ;  and  then  proceeded  by  steam 
down  the  Hudson  to  New  York. 
Phiiadei-         Travellers   hesitate  whether  to  give  the  pre- 

phia.  .  r 

ference  to  Philadelphia  or  to  New  York.  Phi- 
.  ladelphia  is  certainly  a  noble  city,  and  its  environs 
beautiful;  but  there  is  a  degree  of  quiet  and 
sedateness  in  it,  which,  though  no  doubt  very 
agreeable  to  the  man  of  calm  and  domestic  habits, 
is  not  so  attractive  to  one  of  speedy  movements. 
The  quantity  of  white  marble  which  is  used  in 
the  buildings,  gives  to  Philadelphia  a  gay  and 
lively  appearance ;  but  the  sameness  of  the 
streets,  and  their  crossing  each  other  at  right 
angles,  are  somewhat  tiresome.  The  water-works 
which  supply  the  city,  are  a  proud  monument  of 
the  skill  and  enterprise  of  its  inhabitants ;  and 
the  market  is  well  worth  the  attention  of  the 
stranger. 

itsMu-  When  you  go  to  Philadelphia,  be  sure  not  to 
forget  to  visit  the  Museum.  It  will  afford  you 
a  great  treat.  Some  of  Mr.  Peale's  family  are 
constantly  in  it,  and  are  ever  ready  to  show  the 
curiosities  to  strangers,  and  to  give  them  every 
necessary  information.  Mr.  Peale  has  now  passed 


scum. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  277 

his   eightieth   year,   and  appears   to  possess   the    FOURTH 
vivacity,  and,  I  may  almost  add,  the  activity  of  - 
youth. 

To  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  this  gentle- 
man, is  the  western  world  indebted  for  the  pos- 
session of  this  splendid  museum.  Mr.  Peale  is, 
moreover,  an  excellent  artist.  Look  attentively, 
I  pray  you,  at  the  portrait  he  has  taken  of  him- 
self, by  desire  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  On 
entering  the  room  he  appears  in  the  act  of 
holding  up  a  curtain,  to  show  you  his  curiosities. 
The  effect  of  the  light  upon  his  head  is  infinitely 
striking.  I  have  never  seen  any  thing  finer  in 
the  way  of  light  and  shade.  The  skeleton  of  the 
mammoth  is  a  national  treasure.  I  could  form 
but  a  faint  idea  of  it  by  description,  until  I  had 
seen  it.  It  is  the  most  magnificent  skeleton  in 
the  world.  The  city  ought  never  to  forget  the 
great  expense  Mr.  Peale  was  put  to,  and  the 
skill  and  energy  he  shewed,  during  the  many 
months  he  spent  in  searching  the  swamps,  where 
these  enormous  bones  had  been  concealed  from 
the  eyes  of  the  world  for  centuries. 

The  extensive  squares  of  this  city  are  orna- 
mented with  well-grown  and  luxuriant  trees.  Its 
unremitting  attention  to  literature,  might  cause  it 
to  be  styled  the  Athens  of  the  United  States. 
Here,  learning  and  science  have  taken  up  their  American 

i  mi         v  i        i  -i  1-1  •       literature. 

abode.      ihe   literary  and  philosophical  associa- 
tions, the  enthusiasm  of  individuals,  the  activity 


278  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOUHTII    Of  the  press,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  publications, 

JOURNEY.  A 

-  ought  to  raise  the  name  of  Philadelphia  to  an 
elevated  situation  in  the  temple  of  knowledge. 

From  the  press  of  this  city  came  Wilson's 
famous  "  Ornithology."  By  observing  the  birds 
in  their  native  haunts,  he  has  been  enabled  to 
purge  their  history  of  numberless  absurdities, 
which  inexperienced  theorists  had  introduced  into 
it.  It  is  a  pleasing  and  a  brilliant  work.  We 
have  no  description  of  birds  in  any  European 
publication  that  can  come  up  to  this.  By  perus- 
ing Wilson's  "  Ornithology  "  attentively  before  I 
left  England,  I  knew  where  to  look  for  the  birds, 
and  immediately  recognized  them  in  their  native 
land. 
wwte-  Since  his  time,  I  fear  that  the  white-headed 

headed 

Eagles.  eagles  have  been  much  thinned.  I  was  perpe- 
tually looking  out  for  them,  but  saw  very  few. 
One  or  two  came  now  and  then,  and  soared  in 
lofty  flight  over  the  falls  of  Niagara.  The 
Americans  are  proud  of  this  bird  in  effigy,  and 
their  hearts  rejoice  when  its  banner  is  unfurled. 
Could  they  not  then  be  persuaded  to  protect  the 
white-headed  eagle,  and  allow  it  to  glide  in  safety 
over  its  own  native  forests  ?  Were  I  an  American, 
I  should  think  I  had  committed  a  kind  of  sacri- 
lege in  killing  the  white-headed  eagle.  The  Ibis 
was  held  sacred  by  the  Egyptians ;  the  Hollanders 
protect  the  stork  ;  the  vulture  sits  unmolested  on 
the  top  of  the  houses  in  the  city  of  Angustura ; 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  279 


FOURTH 
JOURNEY. 


and  Robin-red-breast,  for  his  charity,  is  cherished 
by  the  English : — 

"  No  burial  these  pretty  babes 

Of  any  man  receives, 
Till  Robin-red-breast  painfully, 

Did  cover  them  with  leaves."* 

Poor  Wilson  was  smote  by  the  hand  of  death, 
before  he  had  finished  his  work.  Prince  Charles 
Buonaparte,  nephew  to  the  late  emperor  Napoleon, 
aided  by  some  of  the  most  scientific  gentlemen  of 
Pennsylvania,  is  continuing  this  valuable  and 
interesting  publication. 

New  York,  with  great  propriety,  may  be  called  New  York, 
the  commercial  capital  of  the  new  world:  — 

"  Urbs  augusta  potens,  nulli  cessura." 

Ere  long,  it  will  be  on  the  coast  of  North  America 
what  Tyre  once  was  on  that  of  Syria.  In  her 
port  are  the  ships  of  all  nations ;  and  in  her  streets 
is  displayed  merchandise  from  all  parts  of  the 
known  world.  And  then  the  approach  to  it  is 
so  enchanting !  The  verdant  fields,  the  woody 
hills,  the  farms,  and  country  houses,  form  a  beau- 
tiful landscape  as  you  sail  up  to  the  city  of  New 
York. 

Broadway  is  the  principal  street.     It  is  three  its  streets, 

•  1  i  i  houses,  &c. 

miles  and  a  halt  long.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
where  to  look  for  a  street,  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  which  has  so  many  attractions  as  this. 

*  The  fault  against  grammar  is  lost  in  the  beauty  of  the  idea. 


280  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH  There  are  no  steam-engines  to  annoy  you  by  filling 
-  the  atmosphere  full  of  soot  and  smoke ;  the 
houses  have  a  stately  appearance;  while  the  eye 
is  relieved  from  the  perpetual  sameness,  which  is 
common  in  most  streets,  by  lofty  and  luxuriant 
trees. 

tedies"05"1  Nothing  can  surpass  the  appearance  of  the 
American  ladies,  when  they  take  their  morning 
walk,  from  twelve  to  three,  in  Broadway.  The 
stranger  will  at  once  see  that  they  have  rejected 
the  extravagant  superfluities  which  appear  in  the 
London  and  Parisian  fashions ;  and  have  only 
retained  as  much  of  those  costumes,  as  is  be- 
coming to  the  female  form.  This,  joined  to 
their  own  just  notions  of  dress,  is  what  renders 
the  New  York  ladies  so  elegant  in  their  attire. 
The  way  they  wear  the  Leghorn  hat  deserves  a 
remark  or  two.  With  us,  the  formal  hand  of  the 
milliner  binds  down  the  brim  to  one  fixed  shape, 
and  that  none  of  the  handsomest.  The  wearer 
is  obliged  to  turn  her  head  full  ninety  degrees 
before  she  can  see  the  person  who  is  standing  by 
her  side.  But  in  New  York  the  ladies  Jiave  the 
brim  of  the  hat  not  fettered  with  wire,  or  tape, 
or  riband,  but  quite  free  and  undulating;  and 
by  applying  the  hand  to  it,  they  can  conceal  or 
expose  as  much  of  the  face  as  circumstances  re- 
quire. This  hiding  and  exposing  of  the  face,  by 
the  by,  is  certainly  a  dangerous  movement,  and 
often  fatal  to  the  passing  swain.  I  am  convinced 


SOUTH   AMERICA.  281 

in  my  own  mind,  that  many  a  determined  and   FOURTH 

'  J  JOURNEY. 

unsuspecting  bachelor,  has  been  shot  down  by  this 
sudden  manoeuvre,  before  he  was  aware  that  he 
was  within  reach  of  the  battery. 

The  American  ladies  seem  to  have  an  abhor- 
rence (and  a  very  just  one  too)  of  wearing  caps. 
When  one  considers  for  a  moment,  that  women 
wear  the  hair  long,  which  nature  has  given  them 
both  for  an  ornament  and  to  keep  the  head  warm, 
one  is  apt  to  wonder,  by  what  perversion  of  good 
taste,  they  can  be  induced  to  enclose  it  in  a  cap. 
A  mob  cap,  a  lace  cap,  a  low  cap,  a  high  cap,  a 
flat  cap,  a  cap  with  ribands  dangling  loose,  a  cap 
with  ribands  tied  under  the  chin,  a  peak  cap,  an 
angular  cap,  a  round  cap,  and  a  pyramid  cap! 
How  would  Canova's  Venus  look  in  a  mob  cap  ? 
If  there  be  any  ornament  to  the  head  in  wearing 
a  cap,  it  must  surely  be  a  false  ornament.  The 
American  ladies  are  persuaded  that  the  head  can 
be  ornamented  without  a  cap.  A  rose-bud  or 
two,  a  woodbine,  or  a  sprig  of  eglantine,  look 
well  in  the  braided  hair;  and  if  there  be  raven 
locks,  a  lily  or  a  snowdrop  may  be  interwoven 
with  effect. 

Now  that  the  packets  are  so  safe,  and  make 
such  quick  passages  to  the  United  States,  it  would 
be.  as  well  if  some  of  our  head  milliners  would 
go  on  board  of  them,  in  lieu  of  getting  into  the 
Diligence  for  Paris.  They  would  bring  back 
more  taste,  and  less  caricature.  And  if  they  could 


282  WANDliKINGS    IN 

FOURTH    persuade  a  dozen  or  two  of  the  farmer's  servant 

JOURNEY.     r 

-  girls  to  return  with  them,  we  should  soon  have 
proof  positive,  that  as  good  butter  and  cheese 
may  be  made  with  the  hair  braided  up,  and  a 
daisy  or  primrose  in  it,  as  butter  and  cheese  made 
in  a  cap  of  barbarous  shape;  washed,  perhaps, 
in  soap-suds  last  new  moon. 
Hotels  and  New  York  has  very  good  hotels,  and  genteel 

boarding-  * 

houses.  boarding-houses.  All  charges  included,  you  do 
not  pay  above  two  dollars  a  day.  Little  enough, 
when  you  consider  the  capital  accommodations, 
and  the  abundance  of  food. 

In  this  city,  as  well  as  in  others  which  I  visited, 
every  body  seemed  to  walk  at  his  ease.  I  could 
see  no  inclination  for  jostling ;  no  impertinent 
staring  at  you  ;  nor  attempts  to  create  a  row  in 
order  to  pick  your  pocket.  I  would  stand  for  an 
hour  together  in  Broadway,  to  observe  the  passing 
multitude.  There  is  certainly  a  gentleness  in 
these  people,  both  to  be  admired  and  imitated. 
I  could  see  very  few  dogs,  still  fewer  cats,  and 
but  a  very  small  proportion  of  fat  women  in  the 
streets  of  New  York.  The  climate  was  the  only 
thing  that  I  had  really  to  find  fault  with;  and 
as  the  autumn  was  now  approaching,  I  began  to 
think  of  preparing  for  warmer  regions. 

climate.  Strangers  are  apt  to  get  violent  colds,  on 
account  of  the  sudden  change  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  noon  would  often  be  as  warm  as  tropical 
weather,  and  the  close  of  day  cold  and  chilly. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  283 

This  must  sometimes  act  with  severity  upon  the    FOURTH 

*          *  JOURNEY. 

newly-arrived  stranger  ;  and  it  requires  more  care  - 
and  circumspection  than  I  am  master  of  to  guard 
against  it.  I  contracted  a  bad  and  obstinate 
cough,  which  did  not  quite  leave  me  till  I  had 
got  under  the  regular  heat  of  the  sun,  near  the 
equator. 

I   may  be   asked,  was   it  all  good   fellowship  iu  Society. 
and  civility  during  my  stay  in  the  United  States  ? 
Did  no  forward  person  cause  offence  ?  was  there 
no   exhibition    of  drunkenness,   or  swearing,  or 
rudeness  ;  or  display  of  conduct  which  disgraces 
civilized  man  in  other  countries  ?     I  answer,  very 
few  indeed  :  scarce  any  worth  remembering,  and 
none  worth  noticing.     These  are  a  gentle  and  a 
civil  people.     Should  a  traveller,  now  and  then  in 
the  long  run,  witness  a  few  of  the  scenes  alluded 
to,  he  ought  not,  on  his  return  home,  to  adduce 
a  solitary  instance  or  two,  as  the  custom  of  the 
country.  In  roving  through  the  wilds  of  Guiana,  I 
have  sometimes  seen  a  tree  hollow  at  heart,  shat- 
tered and  leafless ;  but  I  did  not  on  that  account 
condemn  its  vigorous  neighbours,  and  put  down 
a  memorandum   that  the  woods  were  bad ;    on 
the   contrary,    I    made    allowances :    a   thunder- 
storm, the  whirlwind,  a  blight  from  heaven  might 
have  robbed  it  of  its  bloom,  and  caused  its  pre- 
sent forbidding  appearance.     And,  in  leaving  the 
forest,  I  carried  away  the  impression,  that  though 
some  few  of  the  trees  were  defective,    the  rest 


284  WANDERINGS   IN 

FOURTH    Were  an  ornament  to  the  wilds,  full  of  uses  and 

JOURNEY. 

—  virtues,  and  capable  of  benefiting  the  world  in  a 
superior  degree. 

A  man  generally  travels  into  foreign  countries 
for  his  own  ends ;  and  I  suspect  there  is  scarcely 
an  instance  to  be  found  of  a  person  leaving  his 
own  home  solely  with  the  intention  of  benefiting 
those  amongst  whom  he  is  about  to  travel.  A 
commercial  speculation,  curiosity,  a  wish  for 
information,  a  desire  to  reap  benefit  from  an 
acquaintance  with  our  distant  fellow-creatures,  are 
the  general  inducements  for  a  man  to  leave  his 
own  fire-side.  This  ought  never  to  be  forgotten ; 
and  then  the  traveller  will  journey  on  under  the 
persuasion  that  it  rather  becomes  him  to  court 
than  expect  to  be  courted,  as  his  own  interest  is 
the  chief  object  of  his  travels.  With  this  in  view, 
he  will  always  render  himself  pleasant  to  the 
natives ;  and  they  are  sure  to  repay  his  little  acts 
of  courtesy  with  ample  interest,  and  with  a  fund 
of  information  which  will  be  of  great  service  to 
him. 

While  in  the  United  States,  I  found  our 
western  brother  a  very  pleasant  fellow  ;  but  his 
portrait  has  been  drawn  in  such  different  shades, 
by  different  travellers  who  have  been  through 
his  territory,  that  it  requires  a  personal  inter- 
view before  a  correct  idea  can  be  formed  of  his 
true  colours.  He  is  very  inquisitive  ;  but  it  is 
quite  wrong  on  that  account  to  tax  him  with 


JOURNEY. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  285 

being  of  an  impertinent  turn.  He  merely  inter- 
rogates you  for  information  ;  and  when  you  have 
satisfied  him  on  that  score,  only  ask  him  in  your 
turn  for  an  account  of  what  is  going  on  in  his 
own  country,  and  he  will  tell  you  every  thing 
about  it  with  great  good  humour,  and  in  excel- 
lent language.  He  has  certainly  hit  upon  the 
way  (but  I  could  not  make  out  by  what  means) 
of  speaking  a  much  purer  English  language  than 
that  which  is  in  general  spoken  on  the  parent 
soil.  This  astonished  me  much  ;  but  it  is  really 
the  case.  Amongst  his  many  good  qualities,  he 
has  one  unenviable,  and,  I  may  add,  a  bad  pro- 
pensity ;  he  is  immoderately  fond  of  smoking. 
He  may  say,  that  he  learned  it  from  his  nurse, 
with  whom  it  was  once  much  in  vogue.  In 
Dutch  William's  time  (he  was  a  man  of  bad 
taste),  the  English  gentleman  could  not  do  with- 
out his  pipe.  During  the  short  space  of  time 
that  corporal  Trim  was  at  the  inn  inquiring  after 
poor  Lefevre's  health,  my  uncle  Toby  had  knocked 
the  ashes  out  of  three  pipes.  "  It  was  not  till 
my  uncle  Toby  had  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his 
third  pipe,"  &c.  Now  these  times  have  luckily 
gone  by,  and  the  custom  of  smoking  amongst 
genteel  Englishmen  has  nearly  died  away  with 
them ;  it  is  a  foul  custom  ;  it  makes  a  foul  mouth, 
and  a  foul  place  where  the  smoker  stands  :  how- 
ever every  nation  has  its  whims.  John  Bull  re- 
lishes stinking  venison  ;  a  Frenchman  depopulates 


286  WANDERINGS    IN 


govern- 
ment. 


FOURTH    whole  swamps  in  quest  of  frogs ;  a  Dutchman's 

JOURNEY.  . 

pipe   is    never    out    of    his    mouth ;     a   Russian 

will  eat  tallow  candles ;  and  the  American  in- 
dulges in  the  cigar.  "  De  gustibus  non  est 
disputandum." 

Our  western  brother  is  in  possession  of  a  coun- 
try replete  with  every  thing  that  can  contribute 
to  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  mankind.  His 

its  laws  and  code  of  laws,  purified  by  experience  and  common 
sense,  has  fully  answered  the  expectations  of  the 
public.  By  acting  up  to  the  true  spirit  of  this 
code,  he  has  reaped  immense  advantages  from  it. 
His  advancement,  as  a  nation,  has  been  rapid 
beyond  all  calculation ;  and,  young  as  he  is,  it 
may  be  remarked,  without  any  impropriety,  that 
he  is  now  actually  reading  a  salutary  lesson  to 
the  rest  of  the  civilized  world. 

It  is  but  some  forty  years  ago,  that  he  had 
the  dispute  with  his  nurse  about  a  dish  of  tea. 
She  wanted  to  force  the  boy  to  drink  it  according 
to  her  own  receipt.  He  said,  he  did  not  like 
it,  and  that  it  absolutely  made  him  ill.  After 
a  good  deal  of  sparring,  she  took  up  the  birch 
rod,  and  began  to  whip  him  with  an  uncommon 
degree  of  asperity.  When  the  poor  lad  found 
that  he  must  either  drink  the  nauseous  dish  of 
tea  or  be  flogged  to  death,  he  turned  upon  her 
in  self-defence;  showed  her  to  the  outside  of  the 
nursery  door,  and  never  more  allowed  her  to 
meddle  with  his  affairs. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  287 

Since  the  independence,  the  population  has  in-    FOUR™ 

JOVRNEY. 

creased  from  three  to  ten  millions.     A  fine  navy  - 
has  been    built ;    and    every   thing    attended   to 
that  could  ensure  prosperity  at  home,  and  respect 
abroad. 

The  former  wilds  of  North  America  bear  ample 
testimony  to  the  achievements  of  this  enterprising; 
people.  Forests  have  been  cleared  away,  swamps 
drained,  canals  dug,  and  flourishing  settlements 
established.  From  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
an  immense  column  of  knowledge  has  rolled  into 
the  interior.  The  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  the 
Missouri,  and  their  tributary  streams,  have  been 
wonderfully  benefited  by  it.  It  now  seems  as  if 
it  were  advancing  towards  the  stony  mountains ; 
and,  probably,  will  not  become  stationary  till  it 
reaches  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  almost  immea- 
surable territory  affords  a  shelter  and  a  home  to 
mankind  in  general;  Jew  or  Gentile,  king's-mari 
or  republican,  he  meets  with  a  friendly  reception 
in  the  United  States.  His  opinions,  his  perse- 
cutions, his  errors,  or  mistakes,  however  they 
may  have  injured  him  in  other  countries, 
are  dead,  and  of  HO  avail  on  his  arrival  here. 
Provided  he  keeps  the  peace  he  is  sure  to  be 
at  rest. 

Politicians  of  other  countries  imagine  that  in- 
testine feuds  will  cause  a  division  in  this  common- 
wealth ;  at  present  there  certainly  appears  to  be 
no  reason  for  such  a  conjecture.  Heaven  forbid 


288  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    tnat  it  should  happen.     The  world  at  lame  would 

JOURNEY. 

"suffer  by  it.  For  ages  yet  to  come,  may  this 
great  commonwealth  continue  to  be  the  United 
States  of  North  America. 

The  sun  was  now  within  a  week  or  two  of 
passing  into  the  southern  hemisphere,  and  the 
mornings  and  evenings  were  too  cold  to  be 

Embarks  comfortable.  I  embarked  for  the  island  of  An- 
tigua, with  the  intention  of  calling  at  the  different 
islands  in  the  Caribbean  sea,  on  my  way  once 
more  towards  the  wilds  of  Guiana. 

We  were  thirty  days  in  making  Antigua,  and 
thanked  Providence  for  ordering  us  so  long  a 
passage.  A  tremendous  gale  of  wind,  approach- 
ing to  a  hurricane,  had  done  much  damage  in  the 
West  Indies.  Had  our  passage  been  of  ordinary 
length,  we  should  inevitably  have  been  caught 
in  the  gale. 

st  John's.  St.  John's  is  the  capital  of  Antigua.  In  better 
times  it  may  have  had  its  gaieties  and  amuse- 
ments. At  present  it  appears  sad  and  woe- 
begone. The  houses,  which  are  chiefly  of  wood, 
seem  as  if  they  have  not  had  a  coat  of  paint  for 
many  years ;  the  streets  are  uneven  and  ill-paved  ; 
and  as  the  stranger  wanders  through  them,  he 
might  fancy  that  they  would  afford  a  congenial 
promenade  to  the  man  who  is  about  to  take  his 
last  leave  of  surrounding  worldly  misery,  before 
he  hangs  himself.  There  had  been  no  rain  for 
some  time,  so  that  the  parched  and  barren 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  289 


JOURNEY. 


pastures  near  the  town  might,  with  great  truth. 
be  called  Rosinante's  own.  The  mules  feeding 
on  them,  put  you  in  mind  of  Ovid's  description 
of  famine : — 

"  Dura  cutis,  per  quam  spectari  viscera  possent." 

It  is  somewhat  singular,  that  there  is  not  a  single 
river  or  brook  in  the  whole  island  of  Antigua. 
In  this  it  differs  from  Tartary  in  the  other  world; 
which,  according  to  old  writers,  has  five  rivers; 
viz.  Acheron,  Phlegeton,  Cocytus,  Styx,  and 
Lethe. 

In  this  island  I  found  the  Red-start,  described 
in  Wilson's  "  Ornithology  of  the  United  States." 
I  wished  to  learn  whether  any  of  these  birds 
remain  the  whole  year  in  Antigua,  and  breed 
there ;  or  whether  they  all  leave  it  for  the  north 
when  the  sun  comes  out  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere ;  but,  upon  inquiry,  I  could  get  no  in- 
formation whatever. 

After  passing  a  dull   week   here,  I  sailed  for  island  of 
Guadaloupe,  whose  bold  and  cloud-capped  moun- loupe.* 
tains  have  a  grand  appearance  as  you  approach 
the   island.      Basseterre,    the   capital,   is  a   neat 
town,  with  a  handsome  public  walk  in  the  middle 
of   it,  well    shaded    by  a  row   of  fine  tamarind 
trees     on    each    side.       Behind    the    town,    La 
Souffriere  raises  its  high  romantic  summit ;  and, 
on  a  clear  day,  you  may  see  the  volcanic  smoke 
which  issues  from  it. 

u 


290  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH         Nearly    midway,    betwixt    Guadaloupe     and 

JOURNEY.  §  . 

Dominica,  you  descry  the  Saintes.     Though  high, 

and  bold,  and  rocky,  they  have  still  a  diminutive 
appearance  when  compared  with  their  two  gigan- 
tic neighbours.  You  just  see  Marigalante  to 
windward  of  them,  some  leagues  off,  about  a 
yard  high  in  the  horizon. 
island  of  Dominica  is  majestic  in  high  and  rugged  moun- 

Dominica.          .  .  MI  •,  ,11 

tains.  As  you  sail  along  it,  you  cannot  help 
admiring  its  beautiful  coffee  plantations,  in  places 
so  abrupt  and  steep,  that  you  would  pronounce 
Roseau,  them  almost  inaccessible.  Roseau,  the  capital, 
is  but  a  small  town,  and  has  nothing  attractive 
except  the  well-known  hospitality  of  the  present 
harbour-master,  who  is  particularly  attentive  to 
strangers,  and  furnishes  them  with  a  world  of 
information  concerning  the  West  Indies.  Roseau 
has  seen  better  days ;  and  you  can  trace  good 
taste  and  judgment  in  the  way  in  which  the  town 
has  originally  been  laid  out. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  visited  by  a  succession 
of  misfortunes,  which  smote  it  so  severely,  that 
it  has  never  recovered  its  former  appearance.  A 
strong  French  fleet  bombarded  it ;  while  a  raging 
fire  destroyed  its  finest  buildings.  Some  time 
after,  an  overwhelming  flood  rolled  down  the 
gullies  and  fissures  of  the  adjacent  mountains, 
and  carried  all  before  it.  Men,  women,  and 
children,  houses,  and  property,  were  all  swept 
away  by  this  mighty  torrent.  The  terrible  scene 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  291 

was  said  to  beggar  all  description,  and  the  loss    FOURTH 

JOURNEY. 

was  immense. 

Dominica  is  famous  for  a  large  species  of  frog, 
which  the  •  inhabitants  keep  in  readiness  to 
slaughter  for  the  table.  In  the  woods  of  this 
island,  the  large  rhinoceros  beetle  is  very  com- 
mon ;  it  measures  above  six  inches  in  length. 
In  the  same  woods  is  found  the  beautiful 
humming-bird,  the  breast  and  throat  of  which 
are  of  a  brilliant  changing  purple.  I  have 
searched  for  this  bird  in  Brazil,  and  through  the 
whole  of  the  wilds  from  the  Rio  Branco,  which 
is  a  branch  of  the  Amazons,  to  the  river  Pau- 
maron,  but  never  could  find  it.  I  was  told  by  a 
man  in  the  Egyptian-hall,  in  Piccadilly,  that  this 
humming-bird  is  found  in  Mexico;  but  upon 
questioning  him  more  about  it,  his  information 
seemed  to  have  been  acquired  by  hearsay ;  and 
so  I  concluded  that  it  does  not  appear  in  Mexico. 
I  suspect  that  it  is  never  found  out  of  the  Antilles. 

After  leaving  Dominica,  you  soon  reach  the 
grand  and  magnificent  island  of  Martinico.  St. 
Pierre,  its  capital,  is  a  fine  town,  and  possesses 
every  comfort.  The  inhabitants  seem  to  pay 
considerable  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
tropical  fruits.  A  stream  of  water  runs  down 
the  streets  with  great  rapidity,  producing  a 
pleasing  effect  as  you  pass  along. 

Here  I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  a 
cuckoo,  which  had  just  been  shot.  It  was 

u  2 


292  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    exactly   the    same    as    the    metallic    cuckoo    in 

JOURNEY.  * 

Wilson's    "  Ornithology."      They  told   me  it   is 

a  migratory  bird  in  Martinico.  It  probably 
repairs  to  this  island  after  its  departure  from 
the  United  States. 

At  a  little  distance  from  Martinico,  the  cele- 
brated Diamond  Rock  rises  in  insulated  majesty 
out  of  the  sea.  It  was  fortified  during  the  last 
war  with  France,  and  bravely  defended  by  an 
English  captain. 

st.Lucie.  In  a  few  hours  from  Martinico,  you  are  at  St. 
Lucie,  whose  rough  and  towering  mountains  fill 
you  with  sublime  ideas,  as  you  approach  its  rocky 

Castries,  shore.  The  town  Castries  is  quite  embayed.  It 
was  literally  blown  to  pieces  by  the  fatal  hurri- 
cane, in  which  the  unfortunate  governor  and  his 
lady  lost  their  lives.  Its  present  forlorn  and 
gloomy  appearance,  and  the  grass  which  is  grown 
up  in  the  streets,  too  plainly  show  that  its  hour 
of  joy  is  passed  away  ;  and  that  it  is  in  mourning, 
as  it  were,  with  the  rest  of  the  British  West 
Indies. 

From  St.  Lucie,  I  proceeded  to  Barbadoes  in 
quest  of  a  conveyance  to  the  island  of  Trinidad. 

Barbadoes.  Near  Bridge-town,  the  capital  of  Barbadoes,  I 
saw  the  metallic  cuckoo,  already  alluded  to. 

Barbadoes  is  no  longer  the  merry  island  it  was 
when  I  visited  it  some  years  ago  : — 

"  Infelix  habitnm,  temporis  hujus  habet.1' 


JOURNEY. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  293 

There  is  an  old  sonff  to  the  tune  of  La  Belle 
Catharine,  which  must  evidently  have  been  com- 
posed  in  brighter  times  :  — 

"  Come  let  us  dance  and  sing, 
While  Uarbadoes  bells  do  ring  ; 
Quashi  scrapes  the  fiddle-string, 
And  Venus  plays  the  lute." 

Quashi's  fiddle  was  silent  ;  and  mute  was  the 
lute  of  Venus  during  my  stay  in  Barbadoes.  The 
difference  betwixt  the  French  and  British  islands 
was  very  striking.  The  first  appeared  happy  and 
content  ;  the  second  were  filled  with  murmurs 
and  complaints.  The  late  proceedings  in  England, 
concerning  slavery,  and  the  insurrection  in  Deme- 
rara,  had  evidently  caused  the  gloom.  The  slavery. 
abolition  of  slavery  is  a  question  full  of  benevo- 
lence and  fine  feelings,  difficulties  and  danger  :  — 

"  Tantum  ne  noceas,  dum  vis  prodesse  videto." 

It  requires  consummate  prudence,  and  a  vast 
fund  of  true  information,  in  order  to  draw  just 
conclusions  on  this  important  subject.  Phaeton,  by 
awkward  driving,  set  the  world  on  fire  :  "  Sylvae 
cum  montibus  ardent."  Daedalus  gave  his  son  a 
pair  of  wings  without  considering  the  conse- 
quence ;  the  boy  flew  out  of  all  bounds,  lost  his 
wings,  and  tumbled  into  the  sea  :  — 

"  Icarus,  Icariis  nomina  fecit  aquis." 

When   the    old    man    saw    what    had   happened, 


294  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH   he  damned  his  own  handicraft  in  wing-making ; 

JOURNEY.  .  ... 

—  "  devovitque  suas  artes.       Prudence  is  a  cardinal 
virtue : — 

"  Omnia  consult^  mente  gerenda  tegens." 

Foresight  is  half  the  battle.  "  Hombre  aper- 
cebido,  medio  combatido,"  says  Don  Quixote,  or 
Sancho,  I  do  not  remember  which.  Had  queen 
Bess  weighed  well  in  her  own  mind  the  probable 
consequences  of  this  lamentable  traffic,  it  is  likely 
she  would  not  have  been  owner  of  two  vessels  in 
Sir  John  Hawkins's  squadron,  which  committed 
the  first  robbery  in  negro  flesh  on  the  coast  of 
Africa.  As  philanthropy  is  the  very  life  and  soul 
of  this  momentous  question  on  slavery,  which 
is  certainly  fraught  with  great  difficulties  and 
danger,  perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  at  present 
for  the  nation  to  turn  its  thoughts  to  poor  ill- 
fated  Ireland,  where  oppression,  poverty,  and 
rags  make  a  heart-rending  appeal  to  the  feelings 
of  the  benevolent. 

But  to  proceed.  There  was  another  thing 
which  added  to  the  dulness  of  Barbadoes,  and 
which  seemed  to  have  considerable  effect  in 
keeping  away  strangers  from  the  island.  The 
legislature  had  passed  a  most  extraordinary  bill, 
by  virtue  of  which  every  person  who  arrives  at 
Barbadoes  is  obliged  to  pay  two  dollars,  and  two 
dollars  more  on  his  departure  from  it.  It  is  called 
the  alien  bill ;  and  every  Barbadian  who  leaves  or 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

returns  to  the  island,  and  every  Englishman  too, 
pays  the  tax  ! 

Finding    no  vessel    here  for   Trinidad,    I  em-  Embarks 
barked  in  a  schooner  for  Demerara,  landed  there  rara. e 
after  being  nearly  stranded  on  a  sand-bank,  and 
proceeded  without  loss  of  time  to  the  forests  in 
the  interior.     It  was  the  dry  season,  which  renders 
a  residence  in  the  woods  very  delightful. 

There  are  three  species  of  jacamar  to  be  found 
on  the  different  sand-hills  and  dry  savannas  of 
Demerara  ;  but  there  is  another  much  larger  and 
far  more  beautiful  to  be  seen  when  you  arrive  in 
that  part  of  the  country  where  there  are  rocks. 
The  jacamar  has  no  affinity  to  the  woodpecker  The  Jaca- 
or  king-fisher,  (notwithstanding  what  travellers 
affirm,)  either  in  its  haunts  or  anatomy.  The 
jacamar  lives  entirely  on  insects,  but  never  goes 
in  search  of  them.  It  sits  patiently  for  hours 
together  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and  when  the 
incautious  insect  approaches,  it  flies  at  it  with  the 
rapidity  of  an  arrow,  seizes  it,  and  generally 
returns  to  eat  it  on  the  branch  which  it  had  just 
quitted.  It  has  not  the  least  attempt  at  song, 
is  very  solitary,  and  so  tame  that  you  may  get 
within  three  or  four  yards  of  it  before  it  takes 
flight.  The  males  of  all  the  different  species 
which  I  have  examined  have  white  feathers  on 
the  throat.  I  suspect  that  all  the  male  jacamars 
hitherto  discovered  have  this  distinctive  mark. 
I  could  learn  nothing  of  its  incubation.  The 


296  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    Indians  informed  me  that  one  species  of  jacamar 

JOURNEY. 

-  lays  its  eggs  in  the  wood-ants'  nests,  which  are  so 
frequent  in  the  trees  of  Guiana,  and  appear  like 
huge  black  balls.  I  wish  there  had  been  proof 
positive  of  this  ;  but  the  breeding  time  was  over ; 
and  in  the  ants'  nests  which  I  examined,  I  could 
find  no  marks  of  birds  having  ever  been  in  them. 
Early  in  January,  the  jacamar  is  in  fine  plumage 
for  the  cabinet  of  the  naturalist.  The  largest 
species  measures  ten  inches  and  a  half  from  the 
point  of  the  beak  to  the  end  of  the  tail ;  its  name 
amongst  the  Indians  is  Una-waya-adoucati,  that 
is,  grandfather  of  the  jacamar.  It  is  certainly  a 
splendid  bird;  and  in  the  brilliancy  and  change- 
ableness  of  its  metallic  colours,  it  yields  to  none 
of  the  Asiatic  and  African  feathered  tribe.  The 
colours  of  the  female  are  nearly  as  bright  as  those 
of  the  male,  but  she  wants  the  white  feathers 
on  the  throat.  The  large  jacamar  is  pretty 
common  about  two  hundred  miles  up  the  river 
Demerara. 
The  three-  Here  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  once  more  of 

toed  Sloth.  V 

examining  the  three-toed  sloth.  He  was  in  the 
house  with  me  for  a  day  or  two.  Had  I  taken  a 
description  of  him  as  he  lay  sprawling  on  the 
floor,  I  should  have  misled  the  world,  and  injured 
natural  history.  On  the  ground  he  appeared 
really  a  bungled  composition,  and  faulty  at  all 
points;  awkwardness  and  misery  were  depicted 
on  his  countenance ;  and  when  I  made  him 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 

advance  he  sighed  as  though  in  pain.  Perhaps  it 
was,  that  by  seeing  him  thus  out  of  his  element 
as  it  were,  that  the  count  de  Buffon,  in  his  history 
of  the  sloth,  asks  the  question — "  why  should  not 
some  animals  be  created  for  misery,  since,  in  the 
human  species,  the  greatest  number  of  individuals 
are  devoted  to  pain  from  the  moment  of  their 
existence  ?"  Were  the  question  put  to  me,  I  would 
answer,  I  cannot  conceive  that  any  of  them  are 
created  for  misery.  That  thousands  live  in  misery 
there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but  then,  misery  has  over- 
taken them  in  their  path  through  life,  and  wherever 
man  has  come  up  with  them,  I  should  suppose  they 
have  seldom  escaped  from  experiencing  a  certain 
proportion  of  misery. 

After  fully  satisfying  myself  that  it  only  leads 
the  world  into  error  to  describe  the  sloth  while 
he  is  on  the  ground,  or  in  any  place  except  in  a 
tree,  I  carried  the  one  I  had  in  my  possession  to 
his  native  haunts.  As  soon  as  he  came  in  contact 
with  the  branch  of  a  tree,  all  went  right  with  him. 
I  could  see  as  he  climbed  up  into  his  own  country, 
that  he  was  on  the  right  road  to  happiness ;  and 
felt  persuaded  more  than  ever,  that  the  world  has 
hitherto  erred  in  its  conjectures  concerning  the 
sloth,  on  account  of  naturalists  not  having  given 
a  description  of  him  when  he  was  in  the  only 
position  in  which  he  ought  to  have  been  described, 
namely,  clinging  to  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

As  the  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  country 


297 


FOURTH 
JOURNEY. 


298  WANDERINGS   IN 

FOURTH   bears  great  resemblance  to   Cayenne,  and  is  so 

JOURNEY. 

—  near  to  it,  I  was  in  hopes  to  have  found  the  Grande 
Gobe  Mouche  of  Buffon,  and  the  septicoloured 
Tangara,  both  of  which  are  common  in  Cayenne ; 
but  after  many  diligent  searches,  I  did  not  suc- 
ceed ;  nor  could  I  learn  from  the  Indians  that  they 
had  ever  seen  those  two  species  of  birds  in  these 
parts. 
The  Gross-  Here  I  procured  the  Gross-beak  with  a  rich 

beak.  r 

scarlet  body,  and  black  head  and  throat.  Buffon 
mentions  it  as  coming  from  America.  I  had  been 
in  quest  of  it  for  years,  but  could  never  see  it,  and 
concluded  that  it  was  not  to  be  found  in  Demerara. 
This  bird  is  of  a  greenish  brown  before  it  acquires 
its  rich  plumage. 
Procures  a  Amongst  the  bare  roots  of  the  trees,  alongside 

large  spe- 
cies of  Owl.  of  this   part   of  the  river,  a  red  crab  sometimes 

makes  its  appearance,  as  you  are  passing  up  and 
down.  It  is  preyed  upon  by  a  large  species  of 
owl,  which  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  procure. 
Its  head,  back,  wings,  and  tail,  are  of  so  dark  a 
brown,  as  almost  to  appear  black.  The  breast 
is  of  a  somewhat  lighter  brown.  The  belly  and 
thighs  are  of  a  dirty  yellow  white.  The  feathers 
round  the  eyes  are  of  the  same  dark  brown  as  the 
rest  of  the  body ;  and  then  comes  a  circle  of 
white,  which  has  much  the  appearance  of  the  rim 
of  a  large  pair  of  spectacles.  I  strongly  suspect 
that  the  dirty  yellow  white  of  the  belly  and 
thighs  has  originally  been  pure  white :  and  that 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  299 


JOURNEY. 


it  has  come  to  its  present  colour  by  means  of  the 

* 

bird  darting  down  upon  its  prey  in  the  mud.     But 
this  is  mere  conjecture. 

Here  too,  close  to  the  river,  I  frequently  saw  The  sun- 
the  bird  called  Sun-bird  by  the  English  colonists,  ' 
and  Tirana  by  the  Spaniards,  in  the  Oroonoque. 
It  is  very  elegant  ;  and  in  its  outward  appearance 
approaches  near  to  the  heron  tribe  ;  still  it  does 
not  live  upon  fish.  Flies  and  insects  are  its  food  ; 
and  it  takes  them  just  as  the  heron  takes  fish,  by 
approaching  near,  and  then  striking  with  its  beak 
at  its  prey  so  quick,  that  it  has  no  chance  to 
escape.  The  beautiful  mixture  of  grey,  yellow, 
green,  black,  white,  and  chestnut  in  the  plumage 
of  this  bird,  baffles  any  attempt  to  give  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  distribution  of  them,  which  would  be 
satisfactory  to  the  reader. 

There  is  something  remarkable  in  the  great  The  great 

__.  i  •    1      T  i  -i  •   i  i  Tinamou. 

imamou,  which  1  suspect  has  hitherto  escaped 
notice.  It  invariably  roosts  in  trees  ;  but  the  feet 
are  so  very  small  in  proportion  to  the  body  of  this 
bulky  bird,  that  they  can  be  of  no  use  to  it  in 
grasping  the  branch  ;  and,  moreover,  the  hind  toe 
is  so  short,  that  it  does  not  touch  the  ground 
when  the  bird  is  walking.  The  back  part  of  the 
leg,  just  below  the  knee,  is  quite  flat,  and  some- 
what concave.  On  it  are  strong  pointed  scales, 
which  are  very  rough,  and  catch  your  finger 
as  you  move  it  along  from  the  knee  to  the 
toe.  Now,  by  means  of  these  scales,  and  the 


300  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    particular  flatness  of  that  part  of  the  leg,  the  bird 

JOURNEY.     * 

is  enabled  to  sleep  in  safety  upon  the  branch  of 
a  tree. 

At  the  close  of  day,  the  great  Tinamou  gives 
a  loud,  monotonous,  plaintive  whistle,  and  then 
immediately  springs  into  the  tree.  By  the  light 
of  the  full  moon,  the  vigilant  and  cautious  natu- 
ralist may  see  him  sitting  in  the  position  already 
described. 
The  small  The  small  Tinamou  has  nothing  that  can  be 

Tinamou. 

called  a  tail.  It  never  lays  more  than  one  egg, 
which  is  of  a  chocolate  colour.  It  makes  no  nest, 
but  merely  scratches  a  little  hollow  in  the  sand, 
generally  at  the  foot  of  a  tree. 

Here  we  have  an  instance  of  a  bird,  the  size  of 
a  partridge,  and  of  the  same  tribe,  laying  only  one 
egg,  while  the  rest  of  the  family,  from  the  peahen 
to  the  quail,  are  known  to  lay  a  considerable 
number.  The  foot  of  this  bird  is  very  small  in 
proportion,  but  the  back  part  of  the  leg  bears  no 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  larger  tinamou  ;  hence 
one  might  conclude  that  it  sleeps  upon  the  ground. 

Independent  of  the  hollow  trees,  the  vampires 
have  another  hiding-place.  They  clear  out 
the  inside  of  the  large  ants'  nests,  and  then 
take  possession  of  the  shell.  I  had  gone  about 
half  a  day  down  the  river,  to  a  part  of  the  forest 
where  the  wallaba  trees  were  in  great  plenty. 
The  seeds  had  ripened,  and  I  was  in  hopes  to 
have  got  the  large  scarlet  ara,  which  feeds  on 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  301 

them.     But,  unfortunately,  the  time  had  passed    FOURTH 

*  JOURNEY. 

away,  and  the  seeds  had  fallen. 

While  ranging  here  in  the  forest,  we  stopped 
under  an  ants'  nest ;  and,  by  the  dirt  below,  con- 
jectured that  it  had  got  new  tenants.  Thinking 
it  no  harm  to  dislodge  them,  "  vi  et  armis," 
an  Indian  boy  ascended  the  tree;  but,  before  he 
reached  the  nest,  out  flew  above  a  dozen  vampires. 

I  have  formerly   remarked,  that   I  wished  to  The  Vam- 

pire. 

have  it  in  my  power  to  say,  that  I  had  been 
sucked  by  the  vampire.  I  gave  them  many  an 
opportunity,  but  they  always  fought  shy  ;  and 
though  they  now  sucked  a  young  man  of  the 
Indian  breed  very  severely,  as  he  was  sleeping 
in  his  hammock  in  the  shed  next  to  mine,  they 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  me.  His  great 
toe  seemed  to  have  all  the  attractions.  I  examined 
it  minutely  as  he  was  bathing  it  in  the  river  at 
daybreak.  The  midnight  surgeon  had  made  a 
hole  in  it,  almost  of  a  triangular  shape,  and  the 
blood  was  then  running  from  it  apace.  His 
hammock  was  so  defiled  and  stained  with  clotted 
blood,  that  he  was  obliged  to  beg  an  old  black 
woman  to  wash  it.  As  she  was  taking  it  down 
to  the  river  side,  she  spread  it  out  before  me,  and 
shook  her  head.  I  remarked,  that  I  supposed 
her  own  toe  was  too  old  and  tough  to  invite  the 
Vampire-doctor  to  get  his  supper  out  of  it ;  and 
she  answered,  with  a  grin,  that  doctors  generally 
preferred  young  people. 


302  WANDERINGS    IN 


FOURTH        Nobody  has  yet  been  able  to  inform  me  how 

JOURNEY.  * 

-it  is  that  the  vampire  manages  to  draw  such  a 
large  quantity  of  blood,  generally  from  the  toe, 
and  the  patient,  all  the  time,  remains  in  a  pro- 
found sleep.  I  have  never  heard  of  an  instance 
of  a  man  waking  under  the  operation.  On  the 
contrary,  he  continues  in  a  sound  sleep,  and  at 
the  time  of  rising,  his  eyes  first  inform  him,  that 
there  has  been  a  thirsty  thief  on  his  toe. 

iu  teeth.  The  teeth  of  the  vampire  are  very  sharp,  and 
not  unlike  those  of  a  rat.  If  it  be  that  he  inflicts 
the  wound  with  his  teeth,  (and  he  seems  to  have 
no  other  instruments,)  one  would  suppose  that 
the  acuteness  of  the  pain  would  cause  the  person 
who  is  sucked,  to  awake.  We  are  in  darkness 
in  this  matter ;  and  I  know  of  no  means  by  which 
one  might  be  enabled  to  throw  light  upon  it. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  future  wanderer 
through  the  wilds  of  Guiana,  will  be  more  for- 
tunate than  I  have  been,  and  catch  this  nocturnal 
depredator  in  the  fact.  I  have  once  before  men- 
tioned that  I  killed  a  vampire  which  measured 
thirty-two  inches  from  wing  to  wing  extended ; 
but  others,  which  I  have  since  examined,  have 
generally  been  from  twenty  to  twenty-six  inches 
in  dimension. 

The  Kara-       The   large  humming-bird,   called    by  the    In- 

bimiti.  ,.  -,        .  .      ...  .  .,      .,  , 

dians  Karabimiti,  invariably  builds  its  nest  in  the 
slender  branches  of  the  trees  which  hang  over 
the  rivers  and  creeks.  In  appearance,  it  is  like 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  303 

brown  tanned  leather,  and   without  any  particle    F 

•       *  JO 

of  lining.  The  rim  of  the  nest  is  doubled  in- 
wards,  and  I  always  conjectured  that  it  had  taken 
this  shape,  on  account  of  the  body  of  the  bird 
pressing  against  it,  while  she  was  laying  her 
eggs.  But  this  was  quite  a  wrong  conjecture. 
Instinct  has  taught  the  bird  to  give  it  this  shape", 
in  order  that  the  eggs  may  be  prevented  from 
rolling  out. 

The  trees  on  the  river's  bank  are  particularly 
exposed  to  violent  gusts  of  wind,  and  while  I 
have  been  sitting  in  the  canoe,  and  looking  on, 
I  have  seen  the  slender  branch  of  the  tree  which 
held  the  humming-bird's  nest  so  violently  shaken, 
that  the  bottom  of  the  inside  of  the  nest  has 
appeared,  and  had  there  been  nothing  at  the  rim 
to  stop  the  eggs,  they  must  inevitably  have  been 
jerked  out  into  the  water.  I  suspect  the  hum- 
ming-bird never  lays  more  than  two  eggs.  I 
never  found  more  than  two  in  any  of  the  many 
nests  which  have  come  in  my  way.  The  eggs 
were  always  white,  without  any  spots  on  them. 

Probably  travellers  have  erred  in  asserting  that 
the  monkies  of  South  America  throw  sticks  and 
fruit  at  their  pursuers.  I  have  had  fine  oppor- 
tunities of  narrowly  watching  the  different  species 
of  monkies  which  are  found  in  the  wilds,  betwixt 
the  Amazons  and  the  Oroonoque.  I  entirely  ac- 
quit them  of  acting  on  the  offensive.  When  the 
monkies  are  in  the  high  trees  over  your  head, 


304  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    the  dead  branches  will  now  and  then  fall  down 

JOURNEY. 

-  upon  you,  having  been  broken  off  as  the  monkies 
pass  along  them ;  but  they  are  never  hurled  from 
their  hands. 
Three  Monkies,  commonly  so  called,  both  in  the  old 

classes  of  .  _      .  . 

Monkies.  and  new  continent,  may  be  classed  into  three 
grand  divisions ;  namely,  the  ape,  which  has  no 
tail  whatever;  the  baboon,  which  has  only  a 
short  tail ;  and  the  monkey,  which  has  a  long 
tail.  There  are  no  apes,  and  no  baboons  as  yet 
discovered  in .  the  new  world.  Its  monkies  may 
be  very  well  and  very  briefly  ranged  under  two 
heads  ;  namely,  those  with  hairy  and  bushy  tails  ; 
and  those  whose  tails  are  bare  of  hair  underneath, 
about  six  inches  from  the  extremity.  Those 
with  hairy  and  bushy  tails  climb  just  like  the 
squirrel,  and  make  no  use  of  the  tail  to  help  them 
from  branch  to  branch.  Those  which  have  the 
tail  bare  underneath  towards  the  end,  find  it  of 
infinite  advantage  to  them,  in  their  ascent  and 
descent.  They  apply  it  to  the  branch  of  the  tree, 
as  though  it  were  a  supple  finger,  and  frequently 
swing  by  it  from  the  branch  like  the  pendulum  of 
a  clock.  It  answers  all  the  purposes  of  a  fifth  hand 
to  the  monkey,  as  naturalists  have  already  observed. 

The  large        The  large  red  monkey  of  Demerara  is  hot  a 

red  Mon-  * 

key  of       baboon,  though  it  goes  by  that  name,  having  a 

Demerara. 

long   pensile   tail.*      Nothing    can   sound   more 

*  I  believe  pr ensile  is  a  new-coined  word.     I  have  seen  it, 
but  do  not  remember  where. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  305 

dreadful  than  its  nocturnal  bowlings.  While 
lying  in  your  hammock  in  these  gloomy  and 
immeasurable  wilds,  you  bear  him  howling  at 
intervals,  from  eleven  o'clock  at  night  till  day- 
break. You  would  suppose  that  half  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  forest  were  collecting  for  the  work 
of  carnage.  Now,  it  is  the  tremendous  roar  of 
the  jaguar,  as  he  springs  on  his  prey  :  now,  it 
changes  to  his  terrible  and  deep-toned  growlings, 
as  he  is  pressed  on  all  sides  by  superior  force : 
and  now,  you  hear  his  last  dying  moan,  beneath 
a  mortal  wound. 

Some  naturalists  have  supposed  that  these  awful 
sounds,  which  you  would  fancy  are  those  of  en- 
raged and  dying  wild  beasts,  proceed  from  a 
number  of  the  red  monkies  howling  in  concert. 
One  of  them  alone  is  capable  of  producing  all 
these  sounds ;  and  the  anatomists,  on  an  in- 
spection of  his  trachea,  will  be  fully  satisfied  that 
this  is  the  case.  When  you  look  at  him,  as  he 
is  sitting  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  you  will  see 
a  lump  in  his  throat,  the  size  of  a  large  hen's 
egg.  In  dark  and  cloudy  weather,  and  just 
before  a  squall  of'  rain,  this  monkey  will  often 
howl  in  the  day-time ;  and  if  you  advance  cau- 
tiously, and  get  under  the  high  and  tufted  tree 
where  he  is  sitting,  you  may  have  a  capital 
opportunity  of  witnessing  his  wonderful  powers 
of  producing  these  dreadful  and  discordant 
sounds. 


306  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH        jjis  flesh  is  good  food ;  but  when  skinned,  his 

JOURNEY. 

appearance  is  so  like  that  of  a  young  one  of  our 

Flesh  of  the     J 

Monkey,  own  species,  that  a  delicate  stomach  might  pos- 
sibly revolt  at  the  idea  of  putting  a  knife  and 
fork  into  it.  However,  I  can  affirm,  from  ex- 
perience, that  after  a  long  and  dreary  march 
through  these  remote  forests,  the  flesh  of  this 
monkey  is  not  to  be  sneezed  at,  when  boiled  in 
Cayenne  pepper,  or  roasted  on  a  stick  over  a 
good*  fire.  A  young  one  tastes  not  unlike  kid, 
and  the  old  .ones  have  somewhat  the  flavour  of 
he-goat. 

I  mentioned, '  in  a  former  adventure,  that  I  had 
hit  upon  an  entirely  new  plan  of  making  the 
skins  of  quadrupeds  retain  their  exact  form  and 
feature.  Intense  application  to  the  subject  has 
since  that  period  enabled  me  to  shorten  the 
process,  and  hit  the  character  of  an  animal  to 
a  very  great  nicety,  even  to  the  preservation 
of  the  pouting  lip,  dimples,  warts,  and  wrinkles 
on  the  face.  I  got  a  fine  specimen  of  the  howling 
monkey ;  and  took  some  pains  with  it,  in  order 
to  show  the  immense  difference  that  exists  betwixt 
the  features  of  this  monkey,  and  those  of  man. 

I  also  procured  an  animal  which  has  caused  not 
a  little  speculation  and  astonishment.  In  my 
opinion,  his  thick  coat  of  hair,  and  great  length 
of  tail,  put  his  species  out  of  all  question  ;  but 
then  his  face  and  head  cause  the  inspector  to  pause 
for  a  moment,  before  he  ventures  to  pronounce 


JOURNET. 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  307 

his  opinion  of  the  classification.  He  was  a  large 
animal,  and  as  I  was  pressed  for  daylight,  and 
moreover,  felt  no  inclination  to  have  the  whole 
weight  of  his  body  upon  my  back,  I  contented 
myself  with  his  head  and  shoulders,  which  I  cut 
off;  and  have  brought  them  with  me  to  Europe.* 
I  have  since  found,  that  I  acted  quite  right  in 
doing  so,  having  had  enough  to  answer  for  the 
head  alone,  without  saying  any  thing  of  his  hands 
and  feet,  and  of  his  tail,  which  is  an  appendage, 
Lord  Kames  asserts,  belongs  to  us. 

The  features  of  this  animal  are  quite  of  the 
Grecian  cast;  and  he  has  a  placidity  of  counte- 
nance which  shows  that  things  went  well  with 
him  when  in  life.  Some  gentlemen  of  great  skill 
and  talent,  on  inspecting  his  head,  were  con- 
vinced that  the  whole  series  of  its  features  has 
been  changed.  Others  again  have  hesitated,  and 
betrayed  doubts,  not  being  able  to  make  up  their 
minds,  whether  it  be  possible,  that  the  brute 
features  of  the  monkey  can  be  changed  into  the 
noble  countenance  of  man. — "  Scinditur  vulgus." 
One  might  argue  at  considerable  length  on  this 
novel  subject ;  and  perhaps,  after  all,  produce 
little  more  than  prolix  pedantry.  "  Vox  et  prae- 
terea  nihil." 

*  My  young  friend,  Mr.  J.  H.  Foljambe,  eldest  son  of 
Thomas  Foljambe,  Esq.  of  Wakefield,  has  made  a  drawing  of 
the  head  and  shoulders  of  this  animal,  (see  Frontispiece,)  and  it 
is  certainly  a  most  correct  and  striking  likeness  of  the  original. 

x  2 


308  WANDERINGS    IN 


JOURNEY. 


FOURTH  Let  us  suppose  for  an  instant,  that  it 'is  a 
new  species.  Well ;  "  Una  golondrina  no  hace 
verano ;"  one  swallow  does  not  make  summer,  as 
Sancho  Panza  says.  Still,  for  all  that,  it  would 
be  well  worth  while  going  out  to  search  for  it ; 
and  these  times  of  Pasco- Peruvian  enterprise  are 
favourable  to  the  undertaking.  Perhaps,  gentle 
readers,  you  would  wish  me  to  go  in  quest  of 
another.  I  would  beg  leave  respectfully  to  an- 
swer, that  the  way  is  dubious,  long,  and  dreary ; 
and  though,  .unfortunately,  I  cannot  allege  the 
excuse  of  "  me  pia  conjux  detinet,"  still  I  would 
fain  crave  a  little  repose.  I  have  already  been  a 
long  while  errant : —  - 

"  Longa  mihi  exilia,  et  vastum  maris  sequor  aravi, 
Ne  mandate  mihi,  nam  ego  sum  defessus  agendo." 

Should  any  body  be  induced  to  go,  great  and 
innumerable  are  the  discoveries  yet  to  be  made 
in  those  remote  wilds ;  and  should  he  succeed  in 
bringing  home,  even  a  head  alone,  with  features 
as  perfect  as  those  of  that  which  I  have  brought, 
far  from  being  envious  of  him,  I  should  consider 
him  a  modern  Alcides,  fully  entitled  to  register  a 
thirteenth  labour.  Now  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  argue,  that  this  head  in  question  has  had  all 
its  original  features  destroyed,  and  a  set  of  new 
ones  given  to  it,  by  what  means  has  this  hitherto 
unheard-of  change  been  effected  ?  Nobody  in 
any  of  our  museums  has  as  yet  been  able  to 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  309 

restore  the  natural  features   to  stuffed  animals ;    FOURTU 

JOURNEY. 

and  he  who  has  any  doubts  of  this,  let  him  take  — 
a  living  cat   or   dog,   and    compare   them   with 
a  stuffed  cat  or    dog   in    any   of    the    first-rate 
museums.    A  momentary  glance  of  the  eye  would 
soon  settle  his  doubts  on  this  head. 

If  I  have  succeeded  in  effacing  the  features  of 
a  brute,  and  putting  those  of  a  man  in  their 
place,  we  might  be  entitled  to  say,  that  the  sun 
of  Proteus  has  risen  to  our  museums  : 

"  Unius  hie  faciem,  facies  transformat  in  omnes  ; 
Nunc  homo,   nunc  tigris  ;  nunc  equa,  mine  mulier." 

If  I  have  effected  this,  we  can  now  give  to  one 
side  of  the  skin  of  a  man's  face  the  appearance 
of  eighty  years,  and  to  the  other  side  that  of 
blooming  seventeen.  We  could  make  the  fore- 
head and  eyes  serene  in  youthful  beauty,  and 
shape  the  mouth  and  jaws  to  the  features  of  a 
malicious  old  ape.  Here  is  a  new  field  opened 
to  the  adventurous  and  experimental  naturalist : 
I  have  trodden  it  up  and  down  till  I  am  almost 
weary.  To  get  at  it  myself  I  have  groped  through 
an  alley,  which  may  be  styled,  in  the  words  of 
Ovid,— 

"  Arduus,  obliquus,  caligine  densus  opaca." 

I  pray  thee,  gentle  reader,  let  me  out  awhile. 
Time  passes  on  apace ;  and  I  want  to  take  thee 
to  have  a  peep  at  the  spots  where  mines  are 
supposed  to  exist  in  Guiana.  As  the  story  of 
this  singular  head  has,  probably,  not  been  made 


310  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH   out  to  thy  satisfaction,  perhaps,  (I  may  say  it 

JOURNEY-  *  r  \  J 

nearly  in  Corporal  Trim's  words,)  on  some  long 

and  dismal  winter's  evening,  but  not  now,  I  may 
tell  thee  more  about  it ;  together  with  that  of 
another  head,  which  is  equally  striking. 

It  is  commonly  reported,  and  I  think  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  fact,  that  when  Demerara 
and  Essequibo  were  under  the  Dutch  flag,  there 
were  mines  of  gold  and  silver  opened  near  to  the 
river  Essequibo.  The  miners  were  not  successful 
in  their  undertaking,  and  it  is  generally  conjec- 
tured, that  their  failure  proceeded  from  inex- 
perience. 

Now,  when  you  ascend  the  Essequibo,  some 
hundred  miles  above  the  place  where  these  mines 
are  said  to  be  found,  you  get  into  a  high,  rocky, 
and  mountainous  country.  Here  many  of  the 
mountains  have  a  very  barren  aspect,  producing 
only  a  few  stinted  shrubs,  and  here  and  there  a 
tuft  of  coarse  grass.  I  could  not  learn  that  they 
have  ever  been  explored,  and  at  this  day  their 
mineralogy  is  totally  unknown  to  us.  The 
Indians  are  so  thinly  scattered  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  that  there  would  be  no  impropriety 
in  calling  it  uninhabited : — 

"  Apparent  rari  errantes  in  gurgite  vasto." 

It  remains  to  be  yet  learnt,  whether  this  portion 
of  Guiana  be  worth  looking  after,  with  respect 
to  its  supposed  mines.  The  mining  speculations 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  311 

at  present    are  flowing   down    another   channel.    FOURTH 
The  rage  in  England  for  working  the  mines  of- 
other  states  has  now   risen  to  such  a  pitch,  that 
it  would  require  a  considerable  degree  of  caution 
in  a  mere  wanderer  of  the  woods,  in  stepping 
forward  to  say   any  thing   that   might  tend  to 
raise  or  depress  the  spirits  of  the  speculators. 

A  question  or  two,  however,  might  be  asked. 
When  the  revolted  colonies  shall  have  repaired 
in  some  measure  the  ravages  of  war,  and  settled 
their  own  political  economy  upon  a  firm  founda- 
tion, will  they  quietly  submit  to  see  foreigners 
carrying  away  those  treasures  which  are  abso- 
lutely part  of  their  own  soil,  and  which  necessity 
(necessity  has  no  law)  forced  them  to  barter  away 
in  their  hour  of  need  ?  Now,  if  it  should  so 
happen  that  the  masters  of  the  country  begin  to 
repent  of  their  bargain,  and  become  envious  of 
the  riches  which  foreigners  carry  off,  many  a 
teasing  law  might  be  made,  and  many  a  vexatious 
enaction  might  be  put  in  force,  that  would,  in 
all  probability,  bring  the  speculators  into  trouble 
and  disappointment. 

Besides  this  consideration,  there  is  another 
circumstance  which  ought  not  to  be  overlooked. 
I  allude  to  the  change  of  masters  nearly  through- 
out the  whole  of  America.  It  is  a  curious 
subject  for  the  European  philosopher  to  moralize 
upon,  and  for  the  politician  to  examine.  The 
more  they  consider  it,  the  more  they  will  be 


312  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH   astonished.    If  we  may  judge  by  what  has  already 

JOURNEY.  J    J          O  J  ^  ^ 

taken  place,  we  are  entitled  to  predict,  that  in  a 

very  few  years  more,  no  European  banner  will  be 
seen  to  float  in  any  part  of  the  new  world.  Let 
us  take  a  cursory  view  of  it. 

England  some  years  ago  possessed  a  large 
portion  of  the  present  United  States.  France 
had  Louisiana ;  Spain  held  the  Floridas,  Mexico, 
Darien,  Terra  Firma,  Buenos  Ayres,  Paraguay, 
Chili,  Peru,  and  California ;  and  Portugal  ruled 
the  whole  of  Brazil.  All  these  immense  regions 
are  now  independent  states.  England,  to  be 
sure,  still  has  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  a  few 
creeks  on  the  coast  of  Labrador ;  also  a  small 
settlement  in  Honduras,  and  the  wilds  of  Deme- 
rara  and  Essequibo ;  and  these  are  all.  France 
has  not  a  foot  of  ground,  except  the  forests  of 
Cayenne.  Portugal  has  lost  every  province ; 
Spain  is  blockaded  in  nearly  her  last  citadel ; 
and  the  Dutch  flag  is  only  seen  in  Surinam. 
Nothing  more  now  remains  to  Europe  of  this 
immense  continent,  where,  but  a  very  few  years 
ago,  she  reigned  triumphant. 

With  regard  to  the  West  India  islands,  they 
may  be  considered  as  the  mere  outposts  of  this 
mammoth  domain.  St.  Domingo  has  already 
shaken  off  her  old  masters,  and  become  a  star 
of  observation  to  the  rest  of  the  sable  brethren. 
The  anti-slavery  associations  of  England,  full 
of  benevolence  and  activity,  have  opened  a 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  313 


tremendous  battery  upon  the  last  remaining  forts, 
which  the  lords  of  the  old  continent  still  hold  in  - 
the  new  world;  and,  in  all  probability,  will  not 
cease  firing-  till  they  shall  have  caused  the  last 
flag  to  be  struck,  of  Europe's  late  mighty  empire 
in  the  transatlantic  regions.  It  cannot  well  be 
doubted,  but  that  the  sable  hordes  in  the  West 
Indies  will  like  to  follow  good  example,  whenever 
they  shall  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  so. 

Now,  with  St.  Domingo  as  an  example  before 
them,  how  long  will  it  be  before  they  try  to 
raise  themselves  into  independent  states  ?  And  if 
they  should  succeed  in  crushing  us  in  these  our 
last  remaining  tenements,  I  would  bet  ten  to  one 
that  none  of  the  new  governments  will  put  on 
mourning  for  our  departure  out  of  the  new  world. 
We  must  well  remember,  that  our  own  govern- 
ment was  taxed  with  injustice  and  oppression  by 
the  United  States  during  their  great  struggle  ; 
and  the  British  press  for  years  past  has,  and  is 
still  teeming  with  every  kind  of  abuse  and  un- 
becoming satire  against  Spain  and  Portugal  for 
their  conduct  towards  the  now  revolted  colonies. 

France  also  comes  in  for  her  share  of  obloquy. 
Now,  this  being  the  case,  will  not  America  at 
large  wish  most  devoutly  for  the  day  to  come 
when  Europe  shall  have  no  more  dominion  over 
her  ?  Will  she  not  say  to  us,  our  new  forms  of 
government  are  very  different  from  your  old  ones. 
We  will  trade  with  you,  but  we  shall  always  be 


314  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH  very  suspicious  of  you  as  long  as  you  retain 

possession  of  the  West  Indies,  which  are,  as  we 

may  say,  close  to  our  door-steads.  You  must  be 
very  cautious  how  you  interfere  with  our  politics ; 
for,  if  we  find  you  meddling  with  them,  and  by 
that  means  cause  us  to  come  to  loggerheads, 
we  shall  be  obliged  to  send  you  back  to  your 
own  homes,  three  or  four  thousand  miles  across 
the  Atlantic ;  and  then,  with  that  great  ditch 
betwixt  us,  we  may  hope  we  shall  be  good 
friends.  He  who  casts  his  eye  on  the  East 
Indies,  will  there  see  quite  a  different  state  of 
things.  The  conquered  districts  have  merely 
changed  one  European  master  for  another;  and 
I  believe  there  is  no  instance  of  any  portion 
of  the  East  Indies  throwing  off  the  yoke  of 
the  Europeans  and  establishing  a  government 
of  their  own. 

Ye  who  are  versed  in  politics,  and  study  the 
rise  and  fall  of  empires,  and  know  what  is  good 
for  civilized  man,  and  what  is  bad  for  him,  or  in 
other  words,  what  will  make  him  happy  and 
what  will  make  him  miserable — tell  us  how  comes 
it  that  Europe  has  lost  almost  her  last  acre  in  the 
boundless  expanse  of  territory  which  she  so  lately 
possessed  in  the  west,  and  still  contrives  to  hold 
her  vast  property  in  the  extensive  regions  of  the 
east? 

But  whither  am  I  going  ?  I  find  myself  on 
a  new  and  dangerous  path.  Pardon,  gentle 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  315 

reader,  this  sudden  deviation.     Methinks  I  hear   F°URTH 

JOURNEY. 

thee  saying  to  me, — 

"  Tramite  quo  tendis,  majoraque  viribus  audes." 

I  grant  that  I  have  erred,  but  I  will  do  so  no 
more.  In  general  I  avoid  politics ;  they  are  too 
heavy  for  me,  and  I  am  aware  that  they  have 
caused  the  fall  of  many  a  strong  and  able  man ; 
they  require  the  shoulders  of  Atlas  to  support 
their  weight. 

When  I  was  in  the  rocky  mountains  of  Ma-  cocks  of 

,..,  i         /•     T  P  the  Rock. 

cousma,  in  the  month  of  June,  1812,  1  saw  four 
young  Cocks  of  the  Rock  in  an  Indian's  hut; 
they  had  been  taken  out  of  the  nest  that  week. 
They  were  of  a  uniform  dirty  brown  colour,  and 
by  the  position  of  the  young  feathers  upon  the 
head,  you  might  see  that  there  would  be  a  crest 
there  when  the  bird  arrived  at  maturity.  By 
seeing  young  ones  in  the  month  of  June,  I 
immediately  concluded  that  the  old  cock  of  the 
rock  would  be  in  fine  plumage  from  the  end  of 
November  to  the  beginning  of  May;  and  that 
the  naturalist,  who  was  in  quest  of  specimens 
for  his  museum,  ought  to  arrange  his  plans  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  be  able  to  get  into  Ma- 
coushia  during  these  months.  However,  I  find 
now,  that  no  exact  period  can  be  fixed ;  for,  in 
December,  1824,  an  Indian,  in  the  river  Demerara, 
gave  me  a  young  cock  of  the  rock  not  a  month 
old,  and  it  had  just  been  brought  from  the 


316  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH  Macoushi  country.  By  having  a  young  specimen 
at  this  time  of  the  year,  it  puts  it  out  of  one's 
power  to  say  at  what  precise  time  the  old  birds 
are  in  full  plumage.  I  took  it  on  board  a  ship 
with  me  for  England,  but  it  was  so  very  sus- 
ceptible of  cold  that  it  shivered  and  died,  three 
days  after  we  had  passed  Antigua. 
Indian  If  ever  there  should  be  a  great  demand  for 

rubber.  v 

large  supplies  of  gum  elastic,  commonly  called 
Indian  rubber,  it  may  be  procured  in  abundance 
far  away  in  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo. 
An  Indian  Some  years  ago,  when  I  was  in  the  Macoushi 
country,  there  was  a  capital  trick  played  upon  me 
about  Indian  rubber.  It  is  almost  too  good  to  be 
left  out  of  these  wanderings,  and  it  shews  that 
the  wild  and  uneducated  Indian  is  not  without 
abilities.  Weary  and  sick,  and  feeble  through 
loss  of  blood,  I  arrived  at  some  Indian  huts, 
which  were  about  two  hours  distant  from  the 
place  where  the  gum  elastic  trees  grew.  After 
a  day  and  a  night's  rest  I  went  to  them,  and 
with  my  own  hands  made  a  fine  ball  of  pure 
Indian  rubber ;  it  hardened  immediately  as  it 
became  exposed  to  the  air,  and  its  elasticity  was 
almost  incredible. 

While  procuring  it,  exposurevto  the  rain,  which 
fell  in  torrents,  brought  on  a  return  of  inflamma- 
tion in  the  stomach,  and  I  was  obliged  to  have 
recourse  again  to  the  lancet,  and  to  use  it  with 
an  unsparing  hand.  I  wanted  another  ball,  but 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  317 


was  not  in  a  state  the  next  morning  to  proceed 
to  the   trees.     A  fine  interesting  young  Indian" 
observing  my  eagerness  to  have  it,  tendered  his 
services,  and  asked  two  handsfull  of  fish-hooks 
for  his  trouble. 

Off  he  went,  and  to  my  great  surprise  returned 
in  a  very  short  time.  Bearing  in  mind  the 
trouble  and  time  it  had  cost  me  to  make  a  ball, 
I  could  account  for  this  Indian's  expedition,  in 
no  other  way,  except,  that  being  an  inhabitant 
of  the  forest,  he  knew  how  to*  go  about  his  work 
in  a  much  shorter  way  than  I  did.  His  ball,  to 
be  sure,  had  very  little  elasticity  in  it.  I  tried 
it  repeatedly,  but  it  never  rebounded  a  yard 
high.  The  young  Indian  watched  me  with  great 
gravity,  and  when  I  made  him  understand  that 
I  expected  the  ball  would  dance  better,  he  called 
another  Indian,  who  knew  a  little  English,  to 
assure  me  that  I  might  be  quite  easy  on  that 
score.  The  young  rogue,  in  order  to  render  me 
a  complete  dupe,  brought  the  new  moon  to  his 
aid.  He  gave  me  to  understand  that  the  ball 
Tvas  like  the  little  moon,  which  he  pointed  to,  and 
by  the  time  it  grew  big  and  old,  the  ball  would 
bounce  beautifully.  This  satisfied  me,  and  I 
gave  him  the  fish-hooks,  which  he  received 
without  the  least  change  of  countenance. 

I  bounced  the  ball  repeatedly  for  two  months 
after,  but  I  found  that  it  still  remained  in  its 
infancy.  At  last  I  suspected  that  the  savage 


FOURTH 
JOURNEY. 


318  WANDERINGS    IN 

FOURTH    (t0  use  a  vulgar  phrase)  had  come  Yorkshire  over 

JOURNEY.      V 

me  ;  and  so  I  determined  to  find  out  how  he  had 

managed  to  take  me  in.  I  cut  the  ball  in  two, 
and  then  saw  what  a  taught  trick  he  had  played 
me.  It  seems  he  had  chewed  some  leaves  into 
a  lump,  the  size  of  a  walnut,  and  then  dipped 
them  in  the  liquid  gum-elastic.  It  immediately 
received  a  coat  about  as  thick  as  a  sixpence.  He 
then  rolled  some  more  leaves  round  it,  and  gave 
it  another  coat.  He  seems  to  have  continued 
this  process,  till  he  made  the  ball  considerably 
larger  than  the  one  I  had  procured;  and  in 
order  to  put  his  roguery  out  of  all  chance  of 
detection,  he  made  the  last  and  outer  coat  thicker 
than  a  dollar.  This  Indian  would,  no  doubt, 
have  thriven  well  in  some  of  our  great  towns. 
Returns  Finding  that  the  rainy  season  was  coming  on, 
England.  I  left  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo  with 
regret,  towards  the  close  of  December,  1824  ;  and 
reached  once  more  the  shores  of  England,  after 
a  long  and  unpleasant  passage. 

Concluding  Ere  we  part,  kind  reader,  I  could  wish  to 
draw  a  little  of  thy  attention  to  the  instructions 
which  are  to  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  book. 
Twenty  years  have  now  rolled  away,  since  I  first 
began  to  examine  the  specimens  of  zoology  in 
our  museums.  As  the  system  of  preparation  is 
founded  in  error,  nothing  but  deformity,  dis- 
tortion, and  disproportion,  will  be  the  result  of 
the  best  intentions,  and  utmost  exertions  of  the 


SOUTH    AMERICA.  319 

workman.  Canova's  education,  taste,  and  genius 
enabled  him  to  present  to  the  world  statues  so 
correct  and  beautiful,  that  they  are  worthy  of 
universal  admiration.  Had  a  common  stone- 
cutter tried  his  hand  upon  the  block,  out  of 
which  these  statues  were  sculptured,  what  a 
lamentable  want  of  symmetry  and  fine  counte- 
nance there  would  have  been.  Now,  when  we 
reflect  that  the  preserved  specimens  in  our  mu- 
seums, and  private  collections,  are  always  done 
upon  a  wrong  principle,  and  generally  by  low 
and  illiterate  people,  whose  daily  bread  depends 
upon  the  shortness  of  time  in  which  they  can 
get  through  their  work  ;  and  whose  opposition 
to  the  true  way  of  preparing  specimens,  can 
only  be  surpassed  by  their  obstinacy  in  adhering 
to  the  old  method;  can  we  any  longer  wonder 
at  their  want  of  success  ;  or  hope  to  see  a  single 
specimen  produced  that  will  be  worth  looking 
at?  With  this  I  conclude,  hoping  that  thou 
hast  received  some  information,  and  occasionally 
had  a  smile  upon  thy  countenance,  while  perusing 
these  "  Wanderings ;"  and  begging,  at  the  same 
time,  to  add,  that, 


Well  I  know  thy  penetration 
Many  a  stain  and  blot  will  see, 

In  the  languid  long  narration, 
Of  my  sylvan  errantry. 


320  WANDERINGS   IN   SOUTH  AMERICA. 

FOURTH  ]?or  the  pen  too  oft  was  weary, 

JOURNEY.  . 

In  the  wandering  writer  s  hand, 
As  he  roved  through  deep  and  dreary 
Forests,  in  a  distant  land. 

Show  thy  mercy,  gentle  reader, 
Let  him  not  entreat  in  vain  ; 

It  will  be  his  strength's  best  feeder, 
Should  he  ever  go  again. 

And  who  knows,  how  soon  complaining 
Of  a  cold  and  wifeless  home, 

He  may  leave  it,  and  again  in 
Equatorial  regions  roam. 

C.  W. 


321 


ON 


PRESERVING  BIRDS 


FOR 


CABINETS  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


WERE  you  to  pay  as  much  attention  to  birds,  PRESERVING 
as  $ie  sculptor  does  to  the  human    frame,  you  - 
would  immediately  see,  on  entering  a  museum, 
that  the  specimens  are  not  well  done. 

This  remark  will  not  be  thought  severe,  when 
you  reflect  that, — that  which  once  was  a  bird, 
has  probably  been  stretched,  stuffed,  stiffened, 
and  wired  by  the  hand  of  a  common  clown. 
Consider,  likewise,  how  the  plumage  must  have 
been  disordered,  by  too  much  stretching  or 
drying,  and  perhaps  sullied,  or  at  least  deranged, 
by  the  pressure  of  a  coarse  and  heavy  hand, — 
plumage  which,  ere  life  had  fled  from  within  it, 
was  accustomed  to  be  touched  by  nothing  rougher 
than  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  pure  and  gentle 
breath  of  air. 

In    dissecting,  three    things    are    necessary    to  Dissecting. 
ensure    success ;    viz.    a   penknife,    a   hand    not 

Y 


322  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  coarse  or  clumsy,  and  practice.     The   first   will 

BIRDS. 

"  furnish  you  with  the  means ;  the  second  will 
enable  you  to  dissect ;  and  the  third  cause  you 
to  dissect  well.  These  may  be  called  the  mere 
mechanical  requisites. 

stuffing.  In  stuffing,  you  require  cotton,  a  needle  and 

thread,  a  little  stick  the  size  of  a  common 
knitting-needle,  glass  eyes,  a  solution  of  corro- 
sive sublimate,  and  any  kind  of  a  common  tem- 
porary box  to  hold  the  specimen.  These  also  may 
go  under  the  same  denomination  as  the  former. 
But  if  you  wish  to  excell  in  the  art,  if  you  wish 
to  be  in  ornithology,  what  Angelo  was  in  sculp- 
ture, you  must  apply  to  profound  study,  and 
your  own  genius  to  assist  you.  And  these  may 
be  called  the  scientific  requisites. 

Requisite  to       You   must    have    a    complete    knowledge    of 
roJgtfknow-  ornithological   anatomy.      You   must    pay    close 
OrnithoLgi-  attention  to  the  form  and  attitude  of  the  bird, 
cai  Anatomy.  amj  ^now  exactly  the  proportion  each  curve,  or 
extension,  or  contraction,    or  expansion   of  any 
particular  part   bears  to   the   rest   of  the  body. 
In  a   word,  you  must  possess  Promethean  bold- 
ness, and  bring  down  fire,  and  animation,  as  it 
were,  into  your  preserved  specimen. 
Ermine  the      Repair  to  the  haunts  of  birds,  on  plains  and 

economy  of  •  /»  i    i    i  i 

the  orders  of  mountains,  forests,  swamps,  and  lakes,  and  give 
up  your  time  to  examine  the  economy  of  the 
different  orders  of  birds. 

Then  you  will  place  your  eagle,   in  attitude 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  323 

commanding,  the  same  as  Nelson  stood  in,  in 
the  day  of  battle,  on  the  Victory's  quarter-deck. 
Your  pie  will  seem  crafty,  and  just  ready  to 
take  flight,  as  though  fearful  of  being  surprised 
in  some  mischievous  plunder.  Your  sparrow  will 
retain  its  wonted  pertness,  by  means  of  placing 
his  tail  a  little  elevated,  and  giving  a  moderate 
arch  to  the  neck.  Your  vulture  will  show  his 
sluggish  habits,  by  having  his  body  nearly  parallel 
to  the  earth  ;  his  wings  somewhat  drooping,  and 
their  extremities  under  the  tail,  instead  of  above 
it, — expressive  of  ignoble  indolence. 

Your  dove  will  be  in  artless,  fearless  inno- 
cence ;  looking  mildly  at  you,  with  its  neck,  not 
too  much,  stretched,  as  if  uneasy  in  its  situ- 
ation; or  drawn  too  close  into  the  shoulders, 
like  one  wishing  to  avoid  a  discovery ;  but  in 
moderate,  perpendicular  length,  supporting  the 
head  horizontally,  which  will  set  off  the  breast 
to  the  best  advantage.  And  the  breast  ought 
to  be  conspicuous,  and  have  this  attention  paid 
to  it ;  for  when  a  young  lady  is  sweet  and  gentle 
in  her  manners  ;  kind  and  affable  to  those  around 
her ;  when  her  eyes  stand  in  tears  of  pity  for 
the  woes  of  others,  and  she  puts  a  small  portion 
of  what  Providence  has  blessed  her  with  into  the 
hand  of  imploring  poverty  and  hunger,  then  we 
say,  she  has  the  breast  of  a  turtle  dove. 

You  will  observe  how  beautifully  the  feathers  The  f 

i      then. 

of  a  bird    are   arranged;    one    falling   over   the 

Y  2 


,324  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

other  in  nicest  order ;  and  that,  where  this 
charming  harmony  is  interrupted,  the  defect, 
though  not  noticed  by  an  ordinary  spectator,  will 
appear  immediately  to  the  eye  of  a  naturalist. 
Thus,  a  bird  riot  wounded,  and  in  perfect 
feather,  must  be  procured  if  possible ;  for  the 
loss  of  feathers  can  seldom  be  made  good ;  and 
where  the  deficiency  is  great,  all  the  skill  of  the 
artist  will  avail  him  little  in  his  attempt  to  conceal 
the  defect ;  because,  in  order  to  hide  it,  he  must 
contract  the  skin,  bring  down  the  upper  feathers, 
and  shove  in  the  lower  ones,  which  would  throw 
all  the  surrounding  parts  into  contortion. 

You  will  also  observe,  that  the  whole  of  the 
skin  does  not  produce  feathers,  and  that  it  is 
very  tender  where  the  feathers  do  not  grow.  The 
bare  parts  are  admirably  formed  for  expansion 
about  the  throat  and  stomach  ;  and  they  fit  into 
the  different  cavities  of  the  body  at  the  wings, 
shoulders,  rump,  and  thighs,  with  wonderful 
exactness ;  so  that  in  stuffing  the  bird,  if  you 
make  an  even  rotund  surface  of  the  skin,  where 
these  cavities  existed,  in  lieu  of  reforming  them, 
all  symmetry,  order,  and  proportion  are  lost  for 
ever. 

You  must  lay  it  down  as  an  absolute  rule, 
that  the  bird  is  to  be  entirely  skinned,  otherwise 
you  can  never  succeed  in  forming  a  true  and 
pleasing  specimen. 

You  will  allow  this  to  be  just,  after  reflecting 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  325 


a  moment  on  the  nature  of  the  fleshy  parts  and 
tendons,  which  are  often  left  in :  1st,  they  require 
to  be  well  seasoned  with  aromatic  spices ;  2dly, 
they  must  be  put  into  the  oven  to*  dry;  3dly, 
the  heat  of  the  fire  and  the  natural  tendency 
all  cured  flesh  has  to  shrink,  and  become  hard, 
render  the  specimen  withered,  distorted,  and  too 
small ;  4thly,  the  inside  then  becomes  like  a  ham, 
or  any  other  dried  meat.  Ere  long  the  insects 
claim  it  as  their  own ;  the  feathers  begin  to  drop 
off,  and  you  have  the  hideous  spectacle  of  death 
in  ragged  plumage. 

Wire  is  of  no  manner  of  use,  but,  .on  the 
contrary,  a  great  nuisance ;  for  where  it  is  intro- 
duced, a  disagreeable  stiffness  and  derangement 
of  symmetry  follow. 

The  head  arid  neck  can  be  placed  in  any  atti- 
tude, the  body  supported,  the  wings  closed, 
extended  or  elevated,  the  tail  depressed,  raised 
or  expanded,  the  thighs  set  horizontal  or  oblique, 
without  any  aid  from  wire.  Cotton  will  effect 
all  this. 

A  very  small  proportion  of  the  skull  bone,  say, 
from  the  forepart  of  the  eyes  to  the  bill,  is  to  be 
left  in ;  though  even  this  is  not  absolutely  ne- 
cessary. Part  of  the  wing-bones,  the  jaw-bones, 
and  half  of  the  thigh-bones,  remain.  Every  thing 
else,  flesh,  fat,  eyes,  bones,  brains,  and  tendons, 
are  all  to  be  taken  away. 

While  dissecting,  it  will  be  of  use  to  keep  in  J 


PRESERVING 

nir.ns. 


326  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  mind, — That,  in   taking   off  the   skin   from   the 

BIRDS.  ° 

body,  by  means  of  your  fingers  and  a  little  knife, 

you  must  try  to  shove  it,  in  lieu  of  pulling  it, 
lest  you  stretch  it. 

That,  you  must  press  as  lightly  as  possible  on 
the  bird,  and  every  now  and  then  take  a  view  of 
it,  to  see  that  the  feathers,  &c.  are  all  right. 

That,  when  you  come  to  the  head,  you  must 
take  care  that  the  body  of  the  skin  rests  on  your 
knee ;  for  if  you  allow  it  to  dangle  from  your 
hand,  its  own  weight  will  stretch  it  too  much. 

That,  throughout  the  whole  operation,  as  fast 
as  you  detach  the  skin  from  the  body,  you  must 
put  cotton  immediately  betwixt  the  body  and  it ; 
and  this  will  effectually  prevent  any  fat,  blood, 
or  moisture  from  coming  in  contact  with  the 
plumage.  Here  it  may  be  observed  that,  on  the 
belly  you  find  an  inner  skin,  which  keeps  the 
bowels  in  their  place.  By  a  nice  operation  with 
the  knife,  you  can  cut  through  the  outer  skin, 
and  leave  the  inner  skin  whole.  Attention  to 
this  will  render  your  work  very  clean ;  so  that, 
with  a  little  care  in  other  parts,  you  may  skin  a 
bird  without  even  soiling  your  finger  ends. 

As  you  can  seldom  get  a  bird  without  shooting 
it,  a  line  or  two  on  this  head  will  be  necessary. 
If  the  bird  be  still  alive,  press  it  hard  with  your 
finger  and  thumb,  just  behind  the  wings,  and  it 
will  soon  expire.  Carry  it  by  the  legs,  and  then 
the  body  being  reversed,  the  blood  cannot  escape 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  327 

down  the  plumage  through  the  shot  holes.     As  PRESERVING 

blood  will  often  have  issued  out  before  you  have ~ 

laid  hold  of  the  bird,  find  out  the  shot  holes, 
by  dividing  the  feathers  with  your  fingers,  and 
blowing  on  them,  and  then,  with  your  penknife, 
or  the  leaf  of  a  tree,  carefully  remove  the  clotted 
blood,  and  put  a  little  cotton  on  the  hole.  If, 
after  all,  the  plumage  has  not  escaped  the  marks 
of  blood ;  or  if  it  has  imbibed  slime  from  the 
ground,  wash  the  part  in  water,  without  soap, 
and  keep  gently  agitating  the  feathers,  with  your 
fingers,  till  they  are  quite  dry.  Were  you  to 
wash  them,  and  leave  them  to  dry  by  themselves, 
they  would  have  a  very  mean  and  shrivelled 
appearance. 

In  the  act  of  skinning  a  bird,  you  must  either  Act  of  «km- 

T»         n'n8  lk" 

have  it  upon  a  table,  or  upon  your  knee.  Pro- bird, 
bably,  you  will  prefer  your  knee ;  because,  when 
you  cross  one  knee  over  the  other,  and  have  the 
bird  upon  the  uppermost,  you  can  raise  it  to 
your  eye,  or  lower  it,  at  pleasure,  by  means  of 
the  foot  on  the  ground,  and  then  your  knee 
will  always  move  in  unison  with  your  body,  by 
which  much  stooping  will  be  avoided  and  lassi- 
tude prevented. 

With  these  precautionary  hints  in  mind,  we 
will  now  proceed  to  dissect  a  bird.  Suppose  we 
take  a  hawk.  The  little  birds  will  thank  us, 
with  a  song  for  his  death,  for  he  has  oppressed 
them  sorely;  and  in  size  he  is  just  the  thing. 


328  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  jjjs   skm  js  aiso  pretty  tough,  and  the  feathers 

BIRDS.  « 

adhere  to  it. 

We  will  put  close  by  us  a  little  bottle  of  the 
solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  in  alcohol ;  also 
a  stick  like  a  common  knitting  needle,  and  a 
handful  or  two  of  cotton.  Now  fill  the  mouth 
and  nostrils  of  the  bird  with  cotton,  and  place  it 
upon  your  knee  on  its  back,  with  its  head  point- 
ing to  your  left  shoulder.  Take  hold  of  the 
knife  with  your  two  first  fingers  and  thumb,  the 
edge  upwards.  You  must  not  keep  the  point  of 
the  knife  perpendicular  to  the  body  of  the  bird ; 
because,  were  you  to  hold  it  so,  you  would  cut 
the  inner  skin  of  the  belly,  and  thus  let  the  bowels 
out.  To  avoid  this,  let  your  knife  be  parallel  to 
the  body,  and  then  you  will  divide  the  outer  skin 
with  great  ease. 

Begin  on  the  belly  below  the  breast-bone,  and 
cut  down  the  middle,  quite  to  the  vent.  This 
done,  put  the  bird  in  any  convenient  position, 
and  separate  the  skin  from  the  body,  till  you  get 
at  the  middle  joint  of  the  thigh.  Cut  it  through, 
and  do  nothing  more  there  at  present,  except 
introducing  cotton  all  the  way  on  that  side,  from 
the  vent  to  the  breast-bone.  Do  exactly  the  same 
on  the  opposite  side. 

Now  place  the  bird  perpendicular,  its  breast 
resting  on  your  knee,  with  its  back  towards  you. 
Separate  the  skin  from  the  body  on  each  side  at 
the  vent,  and  never  mind  at  present  the  part  from 


BIRDS. 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  329 

the  vent  to  the  root  of  the  tail.  Bend  the  tail 
gently  down  to  the  back,  and  while  your  finger 
and  thumb  are  keeping  down  the  detached  parts 
of  the  skin  on  each  side  of  the  vent,  cut  quite 
across,  and  deep,  till  you  see  the  back-bone,  near 
the  oil  gland  at  the  root  of  the  tail.  Sever  the 
back-bone  at  the  joint,  and  then  you  have  all 
the  root  of  the  tail,  together  with  the  oil-gland, 
dissected  from  the  body.  Apply  plenty  of  cotton. 
After  this,  seize  the  end  of  the  back-bone  with 
your  finger  and  thumb  :  and  now  you  can  hold 
up  the  bird  clear  of  your  knee,  and  turn  it  round 
and  round,  as  occasion  requires.  While  you  are 
holding  it  thus,  contrive,  with  the  help  of  your 
other  hand  and  knife,  by  cutting  and  shoving, 
to  get  the  skin  pushed  up  till  you  come  to  where 
the  wing  joins  on  to  the  body. 

Forget  not  to  apply  cotton;  cut  this  joint 
through  ;  do  the  same  at  the  other  wing,  add 
cotton,  and  gently  push  the  skin  over  the  head  ; 
cut  out  the  roots  of  the  ears,  which  lie  very  deep 
in  the  head,  and  continue  skinning  till  you  reach 
the  middle  of  the  eye  ;  cut  the  nictitating  mem- 
brane quite  through,  otherwise  you  would  tear 
the  orbit  of  the  eye  ;  and  after  this,  nothing  dif- 
ficult intervenes  to  prevent  your  arriving  at  the 
root  of  the  bill. 

When  this  is  effected,  cut  away  the  body,  leaving 
a  little  bit  of  skull,  just  as  much  as  will  reach  to 
the  forepart  of  the  eye;  clean  well  the  jaw-bones, 


330  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  fasten  a  little  cotton  at  the  end  of  your  stick,  dip 

BIRDS. 

it  into  the  solution,  and  touch  the  skull  and  cor- 
responding part  of  the  skin,  as  you  cannot  well 
get  to  these  places  afterwards.  From  the  time  of 
pushing  the  skin  over  the  head,  you  are  supposed 
to  have  had  the  bird  resting  upon  your  knee ; 
keep  it  there  still,  and  with  great  caution  and  ten- 
derness return  the  head  through  the  inverted 
skin,  and  when  you  see  the  beak  appearing,  pull 
it  very  gently  till  the  head  comes  out  unruffled 
and  unstained; 

You  may  now  take  the  cotton  out  of  the  mouth ; 
cut  away  all  the  remaining  flesh  at  the  palate,  and 
whatever  may  have  remained  at  the  under  jaw. 

Here  is  now  before  you  the  skin,  without  loss 
of  any  feathers,  and  all  the  flesh,  fat,  and  un- 
cleaned  bones  out  of  it,  except  the  middle  joint  of 
the  wings,  one  bone  of  the  thighs,  and  the  fleshy 
root  of  the  tail.  The  extreme  point  of  the  wing 
is  very  small,  and  has  no  flesh  on  it,  comparatively 
speaking,  so  that  it  requires  no  attention,  except 
touching  it  with  the  solution  from  the  outside. 
Take  all  in  the  flesh  from  the  remaining  joint 
of  the  wing,  and  tie  a  thread  about  four  inches 
long  to  the  end  of  it ;  touch  all  with  the  solution, 
and  put  the  wing  bone  back  into  its  place.  In 
baring  this  bone  you  must  by  no  means  pull  the 
skin;  you  would  tear  it  to  pieces  beyond  all 
doubt,  for  the  ends  of  the  long  feathers  are 
attached  to  the  bone  itself;  you  must  push  off 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

the   skin  with    your   thumb-nail    and   forefinger. 

* 

Now  skin  the  thigh  quite  to  the  knee ;  cut  away 
all  flesh  and  tendons,  and  leave  the  bone ;  form 
an  artificial  thigh  round  it  with  cotton  ;  apply 
the  solution,  arid  draw  back  the  skin  over  the 
artificial  thigh :  the  same  to  the  other  thigh. 

Lastly,  proceed  to  the  tail ;  take  out  the  inside 
of  the  oil-gland,  remove  all  the  remaining  flesh 
from  the  root,  till  you  see  the  ends  of  the  tail 
feathers ;  give  it  the  solution,  and  replace  it. 
Now  take  out  all  the  cotton  which  you  have  been 
putting  into  the  body  from  time  to  time  to  pre- 
serve the  feathers  from  grease  and  stains.  Place 
the  bird  upon  your  knee  on  its  back  ;  tie  together 
the  two  threads  which  you  had  fastened  to  the 
end  of  the  wing  joints,  leaving  exactly  the  same 
space  betwixt  them  as  your  knowledge  in  anatomy 
informs  you  existed  there  when  the  bird  was  en- 
tire ;  hold  the  skin  open  with  your  finger  and 
thumb,  and  apply  the  solution  to  every  part  of  the 
inside.  Neglect  the  head  and  neck  at  present; 
they  are  to  receive  it  afterwards. 

Fill  the  body  moderately  with  cotton,  lest  the 
feathers  on  the  belly  should  be  injured  whilst  you 
are  about  the  following  operation.  You  must 
recollect  that  half  of  the  thigh,  or  in  other  words, 
one  joint  of  the  thigh  bone,  has  been  cut  away. 
Now,  as  this  bone  never  moved  perpendicular  to 
the  body,  but  on  the  contrary  in  an  oblique  direc- 
tion, of  course,  as  soon  as  it  is  cut  off,  the 


332  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  remaining  part  of  the  thigh  and  leg,  having 
-  nothing  now  to  support  them  obliquely,  must 
naturally  fall  to  their  perpendicular.  Hence  the 
reason  why  the  legs  appear  considerably  too  long. 
To  correct  this,  take  your  needle  and  thread, 
fasten  the  end  round  the  bone  inside,  and  then 
push  the  needle  through  the  skin  just  opposite 
to  it.  Look  on  the  outside,  and  after  finding 
the  needle  amongst  the  feathers,  tack  up  the 
thigh  under  the  wing  with  several  strong  stitches. 
This  will  shorten  the  thigh,  and  render  it  quite 
capable  of  supporting  the  weight  of  the  body 
without  the  help  of  wire.  This  done,  take  out 
every  bit  of  cotton,  except  the  artificial  thighs, 
and  adjust  the  wing  bones  (which  are  connected 
by  the  thread)  in  the  most  even  manner  possible, 
so  that  one  joint  does  not  appear  to  lie  lower 
than  the  other ;  for  unless  they  are  quite  equal, 
the  wings  themselves  will  be  unequal,  when  you 
come  to  put  them  in  their  proper  attitude.  Here 
then  rests  the  shell  of  the  poor  hawk,  ready  to 
receive,  from  your  skill  and  judgment,  the  size, 
the  shape,  the  features  and  expression  it  had,  ere 
death,  and  your  dissecting  hand,  brought  it  to  its 
present  still  and  formless  state.  The  cold  hand 
of  death  stamps  deep  its  mark  upon  the  prostrate 
victim.  When  the  heart  ceases  to  beat,  and  the 
blood  no  longer  courses  through  the  veins,  the 
features  collapse,  and  the  whole  frame  seems  to 
shrink  within  itself.  If  then  you  have  formed 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

your  idea  of  the  real  appearance  of  the  bird  from 
a  dead  specimen,  you  will  be  in  error.  With 
this  in  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  forming  your 
specimen  a  trifle  larger  than  life,  to  make  up  for 
what  it  will  lose  in  drying,  you  will  reproduce 
a  bird  that  will  please  you. 

It  is  now  time  to  introduce  the  cotton  for  an 
artificial  body,  by  means  of  the  little  stick  like  a 
knitting  needle;  and  without  any  other  aid  or 
substance  than  that  of  this  little  stick  and  cotton, 
your  own  genius  must  produce  those  swellings 
and  cavities,  that  just  proportion,  that  elegance 
and  harmony  of  the  whole,  so  much  admired  in 
animated  nature,  so  little  attended  to  in  preserved 
specimens.  After  you  have  introduced  the  cotton, 
sew  up  the  orifice  you  originally  made  in  the 
belly,  beginning  at  the  vent.  And  from  time  to 
time,  till  you  arrive  at  the  last  stitch,  keep  adding 
a  little  cotton,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no 
deficiency  there.  Lastly,  dip  your  stick  into  the 
solution,  and  put  it  down  the  throat  three  or  four 
times,  in  order  that  every  part  may  receive  it. 

When  the  head  and  neck  are  filled  with  cotton 
quite  to  your  liking,  close  the  bill  as  in  nature. 
A  little  bit  of  bees'  wax,  at  the  point  of  it,  will 
keep  the  mandibles  in  their  proper  place.  A 
needle  must  be  stuck  into  the  lower  mandible 
perpendicularly.  You  will  shortly  see  the  use  of 
it.  Bring  also  the  feet  together  by  a  pin,  and 
then  run  a  thread  through  the  knees,  by  which 


PRESERVING 
BIRDS. 


33d  ON   1'RESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  yOU  may  draw  them  to  each  other,  as  near  as 

BIRDS.  J 

"  you  judge  proper.  Nothing  now  remains  to  be 
added  but  the  eyes.  With  your  little  stick  make 
a  hollow  in  the  cotton  within  the  orbit,  and 
introduce  the  glass  eyes  through  the  orbit. 
Adjust  the  orbit  to  them,  as  in  nature,  and  that 
requires  no  other  fastener. 

Your  close  inspection  of  the  eyes  of  animals, 
will  already  have  informed  you,  that  the  orbit  is 
capable  of  receiving  a  much  larger  body  than 
that  part  of  the  eye  which  appears  within  it 
when  in  life.  So  that,  were  you  to  proportion 
your  eye  to  the  size  the  orbit  is  capable  of 
receiving,  it  would  be  far  too  large.  Inattention 
to  this,  has  caused  the  eyes  of  every  specimen, 
in  the  best  cabinets  of  natural  history,  to  be  out 
of  all  proportion.  To  prevent  this,  contract  the 
orbit,  by  means  of  a  very  small  delicate  needle 
and  thread,  at  that  part  of  it  farthest  from  the 
beak.  This  may  be  done  with  such  nicety,  that 
the  stitch  cannot  be  observed ;  and  thus  you 
have  the  artificial  eye  in  true  proportion. 

After  this,  touch  the  bill,  orbits,  feet,  and 
former  oil-gland  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  with  the 
solution,  and  then  you  have  given  to  the  hawk 
every  thing  necessary,  except  attitude,  and  a 
proper  degree  of  elasticity,  two  qualities  very 
essential. 

Procure  any  common  ordinary  box,  fill  one 
end  of  it,  about  three-fourths  up  to  the  top,  with 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  335 

cotton,  forming  a  sloping  plane.  Make  a  mode-  PRESERVING 
rate  hollow  in  it  to  receive  the  bird.  Now  take  the  ~ 
hawk  in  your  hands,  and,  after  putting  the  wings 
in  order,  place  it  in  the  cotton,  with  its  legs  in  a 
sitting  posture.  The  head  will  fall  down.  Never 
mind.  Get  a  cork,  and  run  three  pins  into  the 
end,  just  like  a  three-legged  stool.  Place  it 
under  the  bird's  bill,  and  run  the  needle,  which 
you  formerly  fixed  there,  into  the  head  of  the 
cork.  This  will  support  the  bird's  head  admi- 
rably. If  you  wish  to  lengthen  the  neck,  raise 
the  cork,  by  putting  more  cotton  under  it.  If 
the  head  is  to  be  brought  forward,  bring  the 
cork  nearer  to  the  end  of  the  box.  If  it  re- 
quires to  be  set  backwards  on  the  shoulders, 
move  back  the  cork. 

As  in  drying,  the  back  part  of  the  neck  will 
shrink  more  than  the  forepart,  and  thus  throw 
the  beak  higher  than  you  with  it  to  be,  putting 
you  in  mind  of  a  stargazing  horse,  prevent  this 
fault,  by  tying  a  thread  to  the  beak,  and  fasten- 
ing it  to  the  end  of  the  box  with  a  pin  or  needle. 
If  you  choose  to  elevate  the  wings,  do  so,  and 
support  them  with  cotton ;  and  should  you  wish 
to  have  them  particularly  high,  apply  a  little 
stick  under  each  wing,  and  fasten  the  end  of 
them  to  the  side  of  the  box  with  a  little  bees'  wax. 

If  you  would  have  the  tail  expanded,  reverse 
the  order  of  the  feathers,  beginning  from  the  two 
middle  ones.  When  dry,  replace  them  in  their 


336  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 

PRESERVING  true  order,  and  the  tail  will  preserve  for  ever  the 

BIRDS. 

—  expansion  you  have  given  it.  Is  the  crest  to  be 
erect  ?  move  the  feathers  in  a  contrary  direction 
to  that  in  which  they  lie,  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
it  will  never  fall  down  after. 

Place  the  box  any  where  in  your  room,  out  of 
the  influence  of  the  sun,  wind,  and  fire ;  for  the 
specimen  must  dry  very  slowly,  if  you  wish  to 
reproduce  every  feature.  On  this  account,  the 
solution  of  corrosive  sublimate  is  uncommonly 
serviceable  ;  for  at  the  same  time  that  it  totally 
prevents  putrefaction,  it  renders  the  skin  moist 
and  flexible  for  many  days.  While  the  bird  is 
drying,  take  it  out,  and  replace  it  in  its  position 
once  every  day.  Then,  if  you  see  that  any  part 
begins  to  shrink  into  disproportion,  you  can 
easily  remedy  it. 

The  small  covert  feathers  of  the  wings  are 
apt  to  rise  a  little,  because  the  skin  will  come 
in  contact  with  the  bone  which  remains  in  the 
wing.  Pull  gently  the  part  that  rises,  with  your 
finger  and  thumb,  for  a  day  or  two.  Press  the 
feathers  down.  The  skin  will  adhere  no  more  to 
the  bone,  and  they  will  cease  to  rise. 

Every  now  and  then  touch  and  retouch  all 
the  different  parts  of  the  features,  in  order  to 
render  them  distinct  and  visible,  correcting  at  the 
same  time  any  harshness,  or  unnatural  risings,  or 
sinkings,  flatness,  or  rotundity.  This  is  putting 
the  last  finishing  hand  to  it. 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  337 

In  three  or  four  days  the  feet  lose  their  natu-  PRESERVING 

•  BIRDS. 

ral  elasticity,  and  the  knees  begin  to  stiffen.  = 
When  you  observe  this,  it  is  time  to  give  the 
legs  any  angle  you  wish,  and  arrange  the  toes 
for  a  standing  position,  or  curve  them  to  your 
finger.  If  you  wish  to  set  the  bird  on  a  branch, 
bore  a  little  hole  under  each  foot,  a  little  way 
up  the  leg;  and  having  fixed  two  proportional 
spikes  on  the  branch,  you  can,  in  a  moment, 
transfer  the  bird  from  your  finger  to  it,  and 
from  it  to  your  finger,  at  pleasure. 

When  the  bird  is  quite  dry,  pull  the  thread 
out  of  the  knees,  take  away  the  needle,  &c.  from 
under  the  bill,  and  all  is  done.  In  lieu  of  being 
stiff  with  wires,  the  cotton  will  have  given  a  con- 
siderable elasticity  to  every  part  of  your  bird ;  so 
that,  when  perching  on  your  finger,  if  you  press 
it  down  with  the  other  hand,  it  will  rise  again. 
You  need  not  fear  that  your  hawk  will  alter,  or 
its  colours  fade.  The  alcohol  has  introduced 
the  sublimate  into  every  part  and  pore  of  the 
skin,  quite  to  the  roots  of  the  feathers.  Its 
use  is  twofold.  1st.  It  has  totally  prevented  all 
tendency  to  putrefaction ;  and  thus  a  sound  skin 
has  attached  itself  to  the  roots  of  the  feathers. 
You  may  take  hold  of  a  single  one,  and  from  it 
suspend  five  times  the  weight  of  the  bird.  You 
may  jerk  it ;  it  will  still  adhere  to  the  skin,  and, 
after  repeated  trials,  often  break  short.  2dly. 


338  ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS. 


BIRDS. 


PRESERVING  ^s  no   part   of  the  skin   has   escaped  receiving 

L  ° 

particles  of  sublimate  contained  in  the  alcohol, 
there  is  not  ,  a  spot  exposed  to  the  depredation 
of  insects  ;  for  they  will  never  venture  to  attack 
any  substance  which  has  received  corrosive  sub- 
limate. 

You  are  aware  that  corrosive  sublimate  is  the 
most  fatal  poison  to  insects  that  is  known.  It  is 
antiputrescent  ;  so  is  alcohol  ;  and  they  are  both 
colourless,  of  course  they  cannot  leave  a  stain  be- 
hind them.  The  spirit  penetrates  the  pores  of 
the  skin  with  wonderful  velocity,  deposits  invisi- 
ble particles  of  the  sublimate,  and  flies  off.  The 
sublimate  will  not  injure  the  skin,  and  nothing 
can  detach  it  from  the  parts  where  the  alcohol 
has  left  it.* 

Furs  of  animals,  immersed  in  this  solution,  will 
retain  their  pristine  brightness  and  durability  in 
any  climate. 

Take  the  finest  curled  feather  from  a  lady's 
head,  dip  it  in  the  solution,  and  shake  it  gently 
till  it  be  dry  ;  you  will  find,  that  the  spirit  will 
fly  off  in  a  few  minutes,  not  a  curl  in  the  feather 
will  be  injured,  and  the  sublimate  will  preserve  it 
from  the  depredation  of  the  insect. 

*  All  the  feathers  require  to  be  touched  with  the  solution, 
in  order  that  they  may  be  preserved  from  the  depredation  of 
the  moth.  The  surest  way  of  proceeding  is,  to  immerse  the 
bird  in  the  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate,  and  then  dry  it 
before  you  begin  to  dissect  it. 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  339 

Perhaps  it  may  be  satisfactory  to  add  here,  that, 
some  years  ago,  I  did  a  bird  upon  this  plan  in 
Demerara.  It  remained  there  two  years.  It  was 
then  conveyed  to  England,  where  it  staid  five 
months,  and  returned  to  Demerara.  After  being 
four  years  more  there,  it  was  conveyed  back  again 
through  the  West  Indies  to  England,  where  it 
has  now  been  near  five  years,  unfaded  and  un- 
changed. 

On  reflecting  that  this  bird  has  been  twice  in 
the  temperate  and  torrid  zone,  and  remained  some 
years  in  the  hot  and  humid  climate  of  Demerara, 
only  six  degrees  from  the  line,  and  where  almost 
every  thing  becomes  a  prey  to  the  insect,  and  that 
it  is  still  as  sound  and  bright  as  when  it  was  first 
done,  it  will  not  be  thought  extravagant  to  sur- 
mise, that  this  specimen  will  retain  its  pristine 
form  and  colours  for  years  after  the  hand  that 
stuffed  it  has  mouldered  into  dust. 

I  have  shown  this  art  to  the  naturalists  in  Brazil, 
Cayenne,  Demerara,  Oroonoque,  and  Rome,  and 
to  the  royal  cabinets  of  Turin  and  Florence.  A 
severe  accident  prevented  me  from  communi- 
cating it  to  the  cabinet  of  Paris,  according  to  my 
promise.  A  word  or  two  more,  and  then  we  will 
conclude. 

A  little  time  and  experience  will  enable  you  to 
produce  a  finished  specimen.  "  Mox  similis  volucri, 
mox  verar  volucris."  If  your  early  performance 


340  ON    PRESERVING   BIRDS. 

PREB7R*VSING  should   not  correspond  with    your  expectations, 

do  not  let    that  cast  you   down.      You   cannot 

become  an  adept  all  at  once.  The  poor  hawk 
itself,  which  you  have  just  been  dissecting,  waited 
to  be  fledged,  before  it  durst  rise  on  expanded 
pinion;  and  had  parental  aid,  and  frequent  prac- 
tice, ere  it  could  soar  with  safety  and  ease  beyond 
the  sight  of  man. 

Little  more  remains  to  be  added,  except  that 
what  has  been  penned  down  with  regard  to  birds, 
may  be  applied,  in  some  measure,  to  serpents, 
insects,  and  four-footed  animals. 

Should  you  find  these  instructions  too  tedious, 
let  the  wish  to  give  you  every  information  plead 
in  their  defence.  They  might  have  been  shorter  ; 
but  Horace  says,  by  labouring  to  be  brief  you 
become  obscure. 

If,  by  their  means,  you  should  be  enabled  to 
procure  specimens  from  foreign  parts  in  better 
preservation  than  usual,  so  that  the  naturalist 
may  have  it  in  his  power  to  give  a  more  perfect 
description  of  them  than  has  hitherto  been  the 
case ;  should  they  cause  any  unknown  species  to 
be  brought  into  public  view,  and  thus  add  a  little 
more  to  the  page  of  natural  history,  it  will  please 
me  much.  But  should  they,  unfortunately,  tend 
to  cause  a  wanton  expense  of  life ;  should  they 
tempt  you  to  shoot  the  pretty  songster  warbling 
near  your  door,  or  destroy  the  mother,  as  she  is 


ON    PRESERVING    BIRDS.  341 

sitting  on  the  nest  to  warm  her  little  ones ;  or 
kill  the  father,  as  he  is  bringing  a  mouthful  of 
food  for  their  support; — Oh,  then! — deep  indeed 
will  be  the  regret  that  I  ever  wrote  them. 

Adieu, 

CHARLES  WATERTON. 


FINIS. 


LONDON : 
R.  CfcAY,  PRINTER,  DliVONSHIRE-STRKET,  BISHOrsOATF.. 


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